Chillicothe Gazette from Chillicothe, Ohio • 8

mr ffihillicothe (gazette opin ion ml page 8-ChMleothe 0. Gazette Friday, Jan. 18, 1980 Lawsuits stall efforts to revise state taxes Ohio senators in forefront in fighting Carter battles "For the most -part, what they're doing is putting the tax burden on business in this Trail adds that the proposal "puts a burden on the people who would have to study the issue to determine which side is right and vote accordingly." Normally, he says, that's a duty delegated to the legislature. But Mary Lynne Capelletti, a former official with Common Cause who now has headed up OPIC's legislative campaign, says the legislature has had its chance to reform Ohio's tax system and hasn't done anything. She says that up to this point, the legislature has given big business anything it wants and that it is time to put an end to it.

Although Ohio is one of the wealthiest states in the nation, she said, it is time the state quit placing last in per capita tax revenues. But Capelletti maintains her organization may never get the chance to place its alternative tax proposal on the ballot if the OMA continues to fight it in the court rooms. But OMA officials say OPIC's problems are its own fault. "They haven't done their job in properly putting the thing before the people," says Trail. And, as long as the OMA has a choice of fighting the OPIC plan in the courts or the campaign trail, it prefers the courts.

"It costs an awful lot of money to run a cheaper to fight it that way rather than campaign." says Trail. While Trail says he's confident the OMA will beat the tax proposal either way, he adds, "We want to do it the cheapest way we can." COLUMBUS More than a year after it first launched its drive to rewrite Ohio's tax system, the Ohio Public Interest Campaign (OPIC) is bogged down in so much litigation that its movement has come to a near standstill. Since it first began its drive to change Ohio's constitution to grant limited property tax relief and close corporate tax loopholes, it has been caught up in a legal war with the Ohio Manufacturer's Association (OMA). And the organization's leaders candidly admit a preference based on economics to fight OPIC in court rather than on the campaign trail At present, the OMA has had mixed results in its legal skirmishes with OPIC. But if the OMA's battle plan is to keep the OPIC off the ballot in Ohio it so far appears to be working.

Thousands of petitions collected by OPIC to force its proposal before the general assembly and eventually before Ohio voters are still locked up in a Columbus bank vault as the result of one of the OMA legal actions. The temporary restraining order has been in effect since last summer. Even if the court lifts the order which OPIC feels will happen the OMA says more legal actions will result. "That would not be the end of the litigation as far as we are concerned," said OMA associate counsel Douglas Trail. At stake in the legal battles between the OMA and OPIC is an established system of taxation in Ohio that OPIC feels bends over backwards to aid big businesses.

It is a system the OMA doesn't want to see changed. WASHINGTON President Carter's record of legislative support improved last year with the most liberal members of the Ohio congressional delegation but lost ground among Republicans and conservative Democrats. Statistics compiled by Congressional Quarterly show that the 13 Ohio Republican and 10 Democratic House members collectively supported the president's legislative positions an average of almost 51 percent of the time, compared to about 46 percent for his first two years in the White House. But the gains were primarily among liberal Democrats representing House districts carried by Carter in the 1976 presidential election. Carter made gains in a total of seven Ohio districts.

Senators from only two other states topped Ohio Democrats John H. Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum in supporting the president on those issues on which the administration took a position. His highest support, according to CQ, came from Michigan (87 percent), New Jersey (84) and Ohio (82). Metzenbaum, a doctrinaire liberal and outspoken opponent of the president, agreed with Carter on 88 percent of the votes; Glenn, a moderate, gave the administration 77 percent support. Only Democrat Carl Levin of Michigan supported the president more often than Metzenbaum, whose record was tied by New Jersey Democrat Bill Bradley.

Kentucky's congressional delegation, comprised of conservative Democrats and radically conservative Republicans, also backed away from the president in legislative battles. Carter received less support in each of the state's seven congressional districts in 1979 than he did during the 1977-78 session of Congress. The state average slipped from more than 54 percent to 37. Sen. Wendell Ford, who is seeking re-election this year to a second six-year term, increased his support from 49 percent in 1978 to 60 percent last year.

Presidential support from the state's senior Democratic senator, Walter D. College testing under fire is Steve Wilson Gannett News Service OPIC's so-called Fair Tax Initiative calls for a constitutional amendment that would grant approximately $150 million in residential and agricultural property tax relief while raising another $600 million in state revenues through changes in the personal income and corporate taxes. It would also kill off one of big businesses' greatest benefits in Ohio by putting an end to the practice of tax abatement as an inducement to attract new businesses to the state. The plan picks up new funds by raising the rates or making the tax more "progressive" for those making in excess of $30,000 a year in taxable income. But OPIC says its "real money" comes from putting a stop to a number of business tax exemptions.

One such exemption killed off by the plan would be a practice under which manufacturers are exempted from the sales tax on raw materials that eventually become part of a finished product. Under the plan, even the machinery used to manufacture the exempted material is exempt from the tax. "To be as candid as possible," says the OMA's Trail, "what they propose in their amendment is an increase in taxes in the state of Zehner's proposal, bearing the tab "truth-in-testing bill," results from a national report by consumer advocate Ralph Nader. It says the tests do not predict future academic performance, as intended, but rather that scores on them correspond directly to the family income of the test taker. The Ohio Public Interest Research Group, a statewide consumer rights organization, is plugging for the Zehner on Olympic Games for the Games and the rest of the world watches with hope and pride.

This is an athletic event which shouldn't have anything to do with politics. Don't let the miserable world situation ruin this too. David Plgott Midland Road, Chillicothe on holiday lighting energy crisis such as we have never seen before, are the lights from Christmas season past left burning? This seems to be a foolish way to use our energy and the taxpayers dollars. However if the city government has an answer, I will be happy to listen I am referring to the evening of Jan. 15, at 11 :15 p.m.

J. Craig Collier 277 Cooks Hill Road, Chillicothe these young age groups. Are all children becoming pot-heads? Or merely cynics? Are the scouting organizations unable to adjust to changing times, or deliberately unwilling? None of the above? This year's "Statistical Abstract" offers a special opportunity for Instructive comparison, because it is the 100th anniversary edition. Anyone wondering about the real meaning of "productivity," for example, need only glance at the agricultural statistics in the two volumes. Between 1868 and 1877, American farmers harvested an average of 12.1 bushels of wheat and 26.4 bushels of corn an acre.

By 1978, the per-acre yield had jumped to 31.6 and 101.2 bushels, respectively. The first "Abstract" sketches a nation the midst of monumental industrial growth and westward expansion. Between 1865 and 1877, railroad trackage more than doubled to 79,208 miles; In A rural, southern-state orientation. In 1976, Carter polled 49 percent of the votes in both districts, running much stronger in the area than had been anticipated, possibly accounting for his victory in traditionally-Republican Ohio. During the first two years of the administration, Harsha supported the President on 35 percent of the votes, Miller on 33 percent.

But last year, with the President's popularity on the decline, he received only 21 percent support from Harsha and 22 percent from Miller. In contrast, Miller supported former Republican President Gerald Ford on 63 percent of the Issues in 1975 and 80 per- cent in 1976. Harsha supported Ford 40 percent of the time in 1975 and 53 percent in 1976. In the two-state area there were also four congressmen from districts that Carter carried who voted against the Carter stance a majority of the time. They were: Freshman Republican Larry Hopkins of Kentucky's 6th Lexington (27 percent support); Republican William Stanton of Ohio's 11th, Painesville (46); Democrat Douglas Applegate of Ohio's 18th, Steubenville (30), and Republican Lyle Williams of Ohio's 19th, Youngstown (39).

Three Ohio Congressmen representing districts President Carter won in 1976 voted against him most of the time last year. They included Democrat Douglas Applegate of Steubenville (30 percent support), Republican Freshman Lyle Williams of Youngstown (39) and Republican William Stanton, Painesville (46). Ohio members of Congress who voted with the administration more than 50 percent of the time last year were Luken (59); Tony Hall, Dayton, (81); Thomas Ashley, Toledo (76); Donald Pease, Lorain, and John Seiberling, Akron (83); Mary Rose Oakar, Cleveland (64); Louis Stokes and Vanik, Cleveland (78). Kentucky representatives supporting the president on a majority of votes were William H. Natcher, Bowling Green (60); Romano Mazzoli, Louisville (68) and Car! Perkins, Ashland (61).

economy alarm Although Americans are skeptical about the long-range effects of controls, a sign of their desperation over the economy is that a 55-39 percent majority favors "putting in a system of mandatory price and wage controls, under which anyone raising prices or wages over 7 percent would be violating the law." Ironically, not a single presidential candidate in either party has yet advocated mandatory controls, and President Carter has all but closed the door to his putting them into effect. Politically, Carter receives his lowest rating on his handling of the economy, where he comes up with a 70-28 percent negative standing, a 14-point improvement over his all-time low of 84-14 percent negative in July. from the tables. Consider the section on education. The first table tells the story of the startling decline of one-room, neigh borhood schools.

As recently as 1940, there were more than 100,000 one-teacher schools; In 1977, the total was only 1,000. Another table shows the huge Increase in college education, and yet another the striking increase in early schooling. In 1965, about 10 percent of three-or four-year-olds went to school; by 1978, two-fifths of the blacks and a third of the whites In this age group were in schoql. Our historic passion for education has continued. But recent test scores conspicuously missing from the "Abstract" have been disappointing, It makes you wonder whether we are' schooling more and learning less.

With a little reflection, who says reading the "Abstract" has to be dull? Warren Wheat Gannet News Service Huddleston, was unchanged: 68 percent for both years. Carter carried both states in 1976, winning 54 percent of the vote in Kentucky and posting only 11,116 votes more than 50 percent in Ohio. House members generally have a realistic sense of the political pulse of the districts they represent here. Their tenure depends on it. It should come as no surprise, then, that there is a relatively close correlation between most members' records of presidential support and the percentage of votes the president received in their districts four years ago.

However, there were two Ohio congressmen representing districts that President Carter lost in 1976 who supported the administration on a majority of votes last year. They were Democrat Thomas A. Luken of Cincinnati's 2nd District, and veteran Democrat Charles Vanik of Cleveland's 22nd District. Second District voters gave Carter only 38 percent of their votes in 1976, the lowest percentage of the state's 23 districts. Luken, a Democrat who captured the traditionally conservative GOP district from Republican incumbent Donald D.

Clancy year, supported President Carter 51 percent of the time during his first term here and 59 percent last year. Two southern Ohio representatives, Sixth District Republican William Harsha, Portsmouth, and Tenth District Republican Clarence Miller, Lancaster, have given President Carter substantially less support than their constituents did in 1976. Both represent districts with strong steadily in the next six months." In October, a bare 49-48 percent plurality felt that unemployment would increase. -By 60-36 percent, a sizable majority now feels that it is very likely that "high interest rates will put the economy into a deeper recession." This is up from the 52-42 percent majority who felt the same way in October. Thus, by 66-22 percent, a 3-to-l majority of Americans continues to be convinced that "the country will be in a recession" a year from now.

As for the present, people have no doubt. A substantial 69-24 percent majority is convinced that we are in a recession now, and 24 percent think that it promises to be a severe one. produced a fund of new information on the common dimensions of the human body information that led to standardized sizes and less expensive clothing. In much the same way, the availability of statistics subtly drives much of our social policy and politics by shaping our perception of Data on income distribution, housing conditions and endangered species have helped generate political pressures for government action. Numbers are the ammunition of advocacy.

In the new "Abstract," there is plenty for everyone. Feminists will be predictably appalled to reconfirm that, despite the massive entry of women into the work force, some key professions remain the almost exclusive preserve of men. In 1978, only 1.6 percent of all enginers were women, though that was double the 1976 level. Somp hupp uncial changes also leap XV Americans perceive with ver-incr easing COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) A protest has been sounded in Ohio's Legislature over standardized university admissions tests. Rep.

James S. Zehner, D-Yellow Springs, is sponsor of a bill that would require those who prepare the tests namely, the Education Testing Service to make public their internal studies on test validity along with findings as to possible cultural and class bias. Editor, the Gazette: I wish that everyone would remember.politicians included, that the Olympic Games are one of the only events in the world where the people from so many countries.The biggest to the smallest can come together in peace and harmony. The athletes train for many years Editor, the Gazette: Why, when our nation is facing an (Ihtlltcothe (gazette MICKIE K. TIMMONS Prealdent and Publlehor CHARLES KNOLES, Advening Director BILL SOUTHERLAND.

Editor' R. MARVIN TURNER. Circulation Managar CRAIG OLSON. Production Managar GLENN THOMPSON, Ottlca Managar PATRICIA McROBERTS, Peraonnel-Promollon Manager The Chilllcothe Qazette la a coneolidation ol the Scioto Gazette, establiahed 18O0, the Chilllcothe Newi Advertiser, eatabliahed In 1131, and the Chilllcothe Ohloen, eitaollahedlnins. bill which has yet to be scheduled for hearings.

Spokesman Jeremy Katarpin says the Nader report makes it "clear that Ohio students, parents, and educators need more information about the use and meaning of these tests, Truth-in-testihg will provide this information." The House Ways and Means Committee is conducting hearings on the Taft-Hartley bill not the famous, Taft-Hartley Act which prohibits labor walkouts from endangering the national welfare, but an Ohio proposal dealing with the state's economic problems. State Rep. Robert Taft II, R-Cincinnati, introduced his community reinvestment bill after inducing Rep. David Hartley, D-Springfield, to come aboard as a co-sponsor. The bill makes adjustments and refinements in a 2-year-old law that lets local governments grant tax abatements to new and expanding industries.

Ways and Means Chairman William E. Hinig, D-New Philadelphia, reading the bill's title at the first hearing, said to Taft: "A little humor there, Bob?" To which the lanky Cincinnatian, whose grandfather, the late Sen. Robert A. Taft sponsored the federal act, replied: "When you're in the minority, you've got to have some humor." Rep. John A.

Begala, D-Kent, says he believes Ohio now has moved to the fore among all states in services it provides its older adults. Begala mentioned the homestead property tax exemption, heating bill nursing home reforms, and expanded training in geriatric medicine, among others. "The 1970s saw the state initiate numerous programs, many of them innovative and quite successful," the secondterm House member said. In April, Begala, who has been instrumental in recent efforts to improve nursing homes, will speak at a meeting of the American Association of Homes for the Aging in Washington, D.C. His topic will be the continuing need for nursing home reforms, he says.

By LOUIS HARRIS Americans continue to be pessimistic about the state of the nation's economy, according to nationwide ABC News-Harris Surveys taken in December of more than 1,000 adults. By 77-22 percent, an overwhelming majority now expects that in the next six months "the cost of living will be going up as fast or faster than it is now," according to a the poll. In October, a lesser 66-32 percent felt that way. Moreover, 74 percent of Americans believe that i the prices of most things they buy are now rising faster than they were a year ago. By 58-39 percent, a majority also believes it is very likely that "unemployment will be rising and foreign trade, with Bmall doses of Information on industrial production and population change.

More than anything else, the contemporary version confirms our growing mania for measuring almost every aspect of national life. Today, you can still document the American taste for coffee, which appears to be waning (per capita consumption dropped from 15.8 pouonds in 1960 to 9.7 pounds in 1978) but you also can learn that about two-fifths of coffee drinkers have between two and five cups daily and 10 percent have six or more. Historian Daniel J. Boorstin, now the Librarian of Congress, pointed out a few years ago that this obsession with measuring helped create new industries and spurred mass merchandising. The development of accurate actuarial tables caused life insurance sales to flourish, and "the sudden demand for uniforms in great quantity (during the Civil War) Statistical journal jammed with delightful trivia Texas, trackage quintupled and, in uufornia, it Increased by a factor of 10.

The steel Industry grew in unison. Not surprisingly, imports of steel rail, which accounted for about one-third of our use in 1870, had almost vanished eight years later. Large floods of Immigrants continued to provide the human grease for this growth; between 1871 and 1878, there were 2.1 million of them, which was about 5 percent of the 1870 population 38.6 million. But our rising wealth also was beginning to change living habits. We were slowly becoming a nation of coffee drinkers.

Between 1830 and 1878, annual per capita consumption more than doubled to 6.5 pounds. Coffee represented nearly a third of our duty-free Imports. The first "Abstract" provides a few such indirect glimpses Into everyday life, but its 157 pages focused mainly on government finances, banking activity The writer is with the National Journal, a Washington-bated weekly that analyzes federal and state Israel. BY ROBERT SAMUELSON The latest edition of the "Statistical Abstract of the United States" arrived recently, providing some welcome diversion from the grim news that passes for real life these days. It isn't, of course, for everyone.

Only small breed of eccentrics find their pleasure reading on 931 pages of tables. It requires a sort of idiot's delight for numbers: an ability to appreciate the comic possibilities of odd bits of trivia, a fascination with the changes chronicled by statistics, and a curosity about tome of the mysteries they raise. Did you know, for example, that scouting enrollment has fallen sharply since 1970, almost 30 percent for boys and mora than 20 percent for girls? That's a much steeper drop than the decline in.