Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 70

Editorials R.M. HEDERMAN Publislier The Clarion-Ledger Jackson Daily News TAMES M. WARD T.M. I IEDERM AN Editor, Jackson Daily News Editor, The Clarion-Ledger 2G Sunday. July 5, 1981 We back Williams GOP candidate reflects nation's mood I mmn V.

On Tuesday voters in Mississippi's 4th Congressional District will go to the polls in the final round of the special election to fill the post vacated earlier this year by Jon Hinson. The choice is between two men Republican Liles Williams, a Clinton businessman, and Democrat Wayne Dowdy, an attorney-businessman and mayor of McComb. Although both are good men, genuinely interested in serving the people of the 4th District, we believe that at this point in time the interests of the district can best be served by the election of Liles Williams, whose campaign promises and positions more closely reflect the mood of a nation that elected Ronald Reagan president. It was obvious from the results of last November's presidential election, in which Mr. Reagan defeated President Jimmy Carter by a whopping margain, that the average American is ready for a change.

Mr. Reagan and his policies represent a new direction that an overwhelming majority of voting Americans, as well as an overwhelming majority of I "THOSE RAWS KEEP FALLIN' ON MY Johanna Neuman Billy Skelton nary enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act can go before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to present evidence that voting problems of the past have been corrected and that the states no longer should be treated differently from the rest of the nation when it comes to insuring that the rights of all citizens to vote are protected. "Mississippi has corrected the injustice and discrimination that existed back in 1965" when the Voting Rights Act was passed, Mr. Williams has pointed out.

Figures available support that. In 1965, fewer than 6 percent of Mississippi's black citizens were regisitered to vote. Today, 67 percent of eligible blacks are registered the highest percentage among the southern states and among the highest percentages in the nation. In 1965, no blacks held elected public office. Today, Mississippi has 380 black elected officials, more than any other state.

This sort of progress must not go ignored by those who would continue to punish the south for the past and at the same time ignore that voting rights problems continue to exist in other regions of the nation. Lest the issue be muddled by the rhetoric of debate, it should be pointed out that proposals currently in Congress do not deal with the portion of the Voting Rights Act that actually assures that all Americans of voting age will be free of infringements on their right to vote. The portion of the act which says that all Americans, regardless of race, creed, or color, have the right to vote and that no state or local governmental unit can impose devices such as literacy tests and poll taxes designed to impede that right is federal law and has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court Nothing short of repeal of the act, a step no one has proposed, will alter that voting rights protection. What is at issue is whether Mississippi and eight other states, which employed literacy tests, poll taxes and other such devices as voting prerequisites when the act was passed, will be able to go the the U.S.

District Court in Washington in 1982 or will have to wait 10 more long years, until 1992, just to ask that they be relieved of the extraordinary enforcement measures that apply to no other region of the country. Those extraordinary enforcement provisions require, among other things, that the southern states and their branches of local government seek from the U.S. Department of Justice or the District Court in Washington "pre-clear-ance" of any measure including such things as land acquisitions and annexations by cities which might infringe upon minority voting rights or dilute minority voting strength. The process is divisive, extremely costly, counterproductive and constitutes a stranglehold on the development of Southern sun-belt cities such as Jackson, Vicksburg, Natchez, McComb, Brookhaven and the other municipalities of the 4th District which must be able to expand if they are to take advantage of the renewed interest that businesses and industries are showing in the South, providing more jobs and a higher standard of living for white and black southerners. The post-Civil War Reconstruction Era, the south's punishment for attempting to secede from the Union, lasted just a little more than a decade.

The region has been living under the extraordinary voting rights enforcement provisions for 16 years. How much longer is it to be unjustly punished for past? His promise to fight extension of these extraordinary enforcement measures, his support for the president's economic Dealing the budget U.S. Rep. David Bowen of Mississippi disclosed last week that the Reagan administration offered him a deal in return for his vote for the Republican-backed budget Bowen, who rejected the deal and voted with the Democrats against the president's budget package, said in his weekly report to the 2nd district that the administration offered to support "a commodity export program I have long sought, a program that would cost a billion dollars over the next three years." Bowen said he turned down the deal because he knew there was not enough money in the agriculture budget to fund the program; that the Reagan deal was a paper offer. "Despite direct assurances that (Office of Management and Budget Director David) Stockman would approve the program if I would switch my vote, I knew that the budget structure for agriculture would not permit it," Bowen said in his weekly report "I did not know where the money would come from, and neither did they." Bowen's disclosure followed earlier reports from Louisiana Democrat John Breaux that the Reagan administration had promised to support the sugar price support program so important to his district if the congressman would support the president's budget After winning assurances from Minority Whip Trent Lott of Mississippi that he would support the sugar program, Breaux gave the president his vote and helped give him a slim margin of victory.

Lott said afterwards that he had only offered his personal vote, had not pledged to deliver the chorus of 190 Republican votes that have Mowed the minority whip's tune so harmoniously so far this session. This meant, he said, that the offer was not a "deal," only an agreement between friends and neighbors. "I have always been with the Louisiana boys on sugar because I want American sugar," said Lott "I'm not speaking for the president" Breaux is not naive. He knows that Lott if not speaking for the president speaks with him from time to time. The Louisiana congressman, who said that his vote was not for sale but "could be rented," also knows that his constituents will hardly mind if be cuts a deal with a popular president for a popular cause like sugar.

In some ways, the administration was equally protected. Stockman knew that he could promise to support the sugar program without too much risk, that it was an empty gesture. After all, if the Democrats were angry enough about the administration's strong-arm tactics, they might vote to eliminate the program which would be just fine with the administration, since Reagan has long opposed the program. And while a few individual Republicans like Lott might have promised their votes, the rest of the GOP could vote against it without in any way dismaying the White House. It was almost as if Stockman could have his cake and eat it too promise support for the sugar loan program and then deliver only the mildest kind of lip-service support without twisting any arms to get the bill passed.

Almost, but not exactly. Where the scenario falls apart is in public reaction. If the public is outraged by the image of a Reagan administration trading deals to such an extent that, as Bowen put it, "the House floor looked more like a tobacco auction than a legislative debate," then maybe the gesture wasn't so free after all. But so far, anyway, public reaction has been mild. Either Ronald Reagan is so personally popular that no one can believe he would have anything to do with such arm-twisting, or people are so conditioned to expect their politicians to be a little shady that they register not the slightest surprise when they find evidence of it Maybe the voting public no longer believes politicians like Bowen when they disclose that the White House has attempted to buy their votes, or maybe the reading public no longer believes reporters like me when we report it.

If that's the case, Stockman may get away with it. But the real victor will be cynicism, and that's hardly anything to cheer about. Let's play ball William Safire, who is considered to be a columnist coming from the right, last week came in from the left; that is, he examined the saving, "out of left field" (in these parts, "out in left I can't vouch for the impartiality or authenticity of his report, but he cites several impressive sources to bolster his explication. It must be conceded, however, that being "out of (or in) left field" is interpreted less as leftish or radical than, as Safire says, far-out, flaky and farfetched. But how did it become the metaphoric epitome of crackbrained? Safire quotes Robert J.

Wilson of Riverside, as explaining that "in the older, less symmetrical baseball stadia, left field was usually 'deeper' than right, and thus coming from left field was coming in from a 'far-out' region." Clarion-Ledger Sports Editor Paul Borden confirms the statement that most of the old ball parks had shorter fences in right field than left, Fenway Park and a few other notorious exceptions notwithstanding. But it seems to me over the years that the part of the outfield closest to home plate is the side to which the home team's power hitters pull the ball. Yet many sports writers have speculated about how many more home runs Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams would have hit if right-swinging Joe had been playing for the Red Sox in Fenway Park with its short wall to port and left-swinging Ted had been playing for the Yanks in Yankee Stadium with its near porch to right I must take issue with Gerald Helman, who wrote to Safire all the way from Geneva, Switzerland, to say that "the good hitting, poor fielding players were put out in left," and because of their "defensive inadequacies, you could expect almost anything to happen when the ball was nit to them." I have played in many games albeit years ago when right fielders never had to move out of their tracks (except between innings). This was because most people bat as well as throw right-handed. In boyhood baseball, the last person chosen was always sent to right field, although on the college, semi-pro and professional levels the outfielder with the strongest arm was (and is) usually placed in right field to cut off runners trying to go to third.

Overall, the best fielder is usually placed in center so he can range either way. Safire, even with the help of his scholarly contributors, leaves some ground uncovered. He ignores switch hitters and the fact that although 90 percent of the people are right-handed, not all of them bat right-handed. Some of our greatest sluggers have thrown right and batted left And he never explains how you can be "far out" in left field" and still be "in the ball park" (speaking of diamond-prompted figures of speech). Although I can't entirely dispute the conclusion of John Algeo, editor of American Speech, that being "out in left field" has become a metaphor for isolation, I think the loneliness of the outpost is conditional.

With a long-ball hitter at the plate, outfielders crowd the fence or, depending on the diamond, retire to the tall grass and this station could be in center or in right as well as in left. As for eccentricity, left-handed pitchers, not leftfielders, are the players thought of as "sometimes screwy or dizzy individuals" (the words of David Zin-man, science writer for Newsday, by way of Safire). On the other hand (excuse the expression), Dizzy Dean was a right-hander or starboarder, as sports scribes once called 'em. And mixing the metaphor more, southpaws, especially sidearmers, are coming from right field, not from left, when they deliver the ball. But lefthander Carl Hubbell was the master of the screwball.

The "wildness" of lefthanders, myth to the contrary, applies less to their personal behavior than the behavior of their assortment of pitches. Somehow they seem to have more trouble throwing the ball over the plate or to any other particular spot. They also have the reputation of uncorking, unintentionally or not more bullets straight at the batter's rib cage or skull It might be helpful in this discussion if all contributors identified the direction of their comments. (Question: does one come from right or left or go that way?) Safire does not say whether he is a lefty or not, although he is clearly on the right side politically. As for me, I bat right-handed but chop cotton left-handed.

And ideologically, I can be ambidextrous (and not infrequently wishy-washy), but mostly play centerf ield as far from foul balls as I can get. If I had to summarize, I'd say the main objective, in language and in baseball, is to keep your eye on the ball and not be caught off base. But if you expect to stay in there pitching, you've got to have something on the ball. 4th District voters, seem to wish to see the nation take. In seeking to become congressman for the 4th District, Mr.

Williams has said that he will support President Reagan's policies designed to stabilize our vascil-Iating economy and bring an end to inflation by controlling waste and inefficiency in government; by reducing taxes, which in the past two decades have been gnawing away an ever-increasing chunk of the working person's paycheck, leaving many working Americans with only enough money for the meagerest of necessities; and by eliminating many unnecessary taxes and government regulations that have thwarted the businesses and industries that have always been the bedrock of the national economy. Whether the president's economic program is the ultimate prescription for what ails the fiscal aches of the nation still remains to be seen, but we will never know unless he is given a chance to fulfill it a chance that could be denied if the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, instead of opting for a spirit of cooperation, chooses the same obstructionist stance it adopted in dealing with Mr. Carter, a Democratic president. If Mr. Reagan's programs are to be given a chance, House Speaker Tip O'Neill and his cronies will have to be prevented from putting up unnecessary roadblocks.

One thing is clear, the answers of the past offer little hope for the future. The giveaway programs, wasted government expenditures and other policies pursued by Congress for the past 20 years have led this nation to the edge of bankruptcy and have given us confiscatory taxes and high interest rates, all of which have resulted in a loss of respect for the U.S. government, not only among its citizens but throughout the world. Thus far, Mr. Reagan has offered the only comprehensive plan aimed at reversing this nation's economic downturn.

He deserves a Congress he can work with tow implement his programs. It is obvious that Liles Williams is in tune with the president and the people. He has promised that if chosen to represent the 4th District he will "take up the cause of the forgotten Americans Those who want to keep most of what they work to earn, not to see it taken away by a government that has forgotten why the American system was once the envy of the world." We agree with Mr. Williams when he says that "Americans want the freedom to get good jobs, to turn businesses into successes, to make decisions at home and in their communities and not be chained by government over-regulation and distant bureaucracies." On an issue closer to home, Mr. Williams has said he will oppose attempts to extend by another 10 years the period before the handful of southern states currently operating under the extraordi Jimmy Ward A lesson in Boll Weevil talk recovery program and his stands on other issues make Liles Williams the man the 4th District should send to Washington.

The Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Daily News Capsule comment Thad Cochran dines on hot biscuits and HEM, he asks for MOW 'lasses. To be socially polite, for the fust hepping jes say "pass the lasses." PEN The temporary home of Watergate and Abscam victims. PIN Temporary home of hawgs until they are fattened and turned into BECKON and HEM. POKE Another Su'thrn delicacy from the pig. As "pass me the POKE chops." ROT Tip O'Neill says it's not all-ROT to vote with Reagan.

RAT Immediate! As "I want to buy Jeannie a drink RAT now!" STOW Place to shop. Stop at the STOW and pick up a six-pack. TIN-SIN-STOW Less expensive STOW, called the 5 10 until Nawth'n lib'rools caused inflation. THUD A numerical point. After two mint leps, the next one is yo' THUD.

Time to take Jeannie to her apartment TAXES Area that grows the biggest boll weevils in the wurl. Lyndon Johnson was BARN and raysed thar. UKNOW First name of VERSITY Place of football, larnin, truth and wurship, in that order. As Ole miss is the UKNOW VERSITY of Miss-sip-ee. WHISTLE Universal melody of Dixie, the sweetest tune of earth, sweeter than the mocking berds warbling in the Sprangtime.

Yep, yall, jes' whistling Dixie. That's whut this column is all about Climb ABODE. RAT NOW! when the vote is counted. Avoid by not getting too close to the far. COAT Legal term, as the U.S.

Sopreem COAT. CAD The motion CAD by 10 votes. Also, TOTE. "I CAD home a mess of tunnup greens." CAW Whut to ride in. Mr.

O'Neill has a Lincoln CAW. CHEER He pulled up his CHEER closer in the Oval Of ice. Also, rocker. DID No longer alive. The Democratic motion is DID as a doahnail.

FOE The committee vote was nine to FOE. FLOW Sen. Stennis met Sen. Thurmond on the Senate FLOW. FUR Like it's a FUR piece from Massachusetts to Houston, Taxes.

FARM To remove from the payroll. If that bureaucrat don't resign, FARM. GULL That's what Jamie Whitten calls a pretty young female. HEM Choice cut off hawg's rear hips. Goes best with Ross Barnett-style red-eye gravy 'n grits.

HEP To assist, as in HEP defeat those li-b'rools and Commies. LACK David Bowen says he LACKS catfish but fried chicken is better. LOT A matter of color. Jeannie, as all congressmen know, is the sexy lobbyist with LOT-brownhair. MOW Sometimes defined as more.

When Playing ball on the conservative team is nothing new for Southern Democrats, but the current effective coalition is getting unusual publicity as radicals seek to thwart President Reagan's economic program. The dedicated congressmen from Dixie are being branded the "Boll Weevil Caucus." Speaker Tip O'Neill claims he's never seen anything like it. Perhaps it's a problem of communications, many Yankees just don't understand the real English language. Thus, from several sources we have compiled the 'Tip O'Neill Boll Weevil Dictionary:" ABODE Wooden plank in the Democratic platform. AUTO Congress AUTO pass this bill before August.

AX Let me AX why you don't understand. BECKON Lean meat from hawg, usually eaten with aigs at brakefuss. BARN I was BARN and raysed in Dixie. Hurrah! BOTTLE Military action. Like Sonny Montgomery describing the BOTTLE of Berlin.

BRAID Often sliced, poor substitute for biscuits. Made from wheet. Not to be confused with cawn-BRAID, which is served with pot likker, the only non-alcoholic drink to be found south of Gettysburg. BUCKS Reading material thousands in the Library of Congress. BUN Like the slow BUN on Tip O'Neill's face Some members of the Moral Majority believe that nothing should be available for Americans to see, hear or read, except that which promotes fundamentalist Christian values.

If every group were permitted to censor just one genre of material, the only thing left would be Mary Poppins. Actually even that children's classic was recent the object of a censorship attempt by a group contending that the book promoted a "colonialist mentality." Alan Dershowitz Deep down everybody would like to censor something in the name of a higher morality. To (some feminists) pornography is "genocidal propaganda" that must be destroyed by force if necessary. To Holocaust surviver(s), it is Nazi propaganda that must banned, even if banning requires a change in the First Amendment. Some blacks would have Little Black Sambo and Huckleberry Finn removed from library shelves.

Some homosexuals would ban films like Cruising. () 1.