Sunday Gazette-Mail from Charleston, West Virginia • Page 26

Kinging In The New Year FANNY SEILER-Aftairs of State Moore Could Patch Split The Republican party hi West Virginia has some deep worries plaguing it despite a general assumption that-Gov. Moore stands a good chance of knocking off one of the two most prominent Democrats- cither Jay Rockefeller or Jennings Randolph depending on which office he Primarily it is that longstanding split between Moore and ex-Gov. Cecil Underwood which is 1 causing more problems in the GOP than meets the eye. Although that split isn't admitted publicly by Underwood and Moore, it is one of the factors on the minds of potential candidates for statewide offices, and supporters of President Nixon. Nixon supporters reportedly have made some gesture toward healing that split.

They have discussed the problem in Washington, according to reliable information. But how far they have gotten in West Virginia isn't something that can be easily confirmed. Their success depends upon Gov. Moore and an unimpeachable source who knows the situation as it really exists says the degree of mending will depend upon how much help Moore will need to gain victory. SOME POLITICAL observers belitve the task is impossible, but a very good source close to one of the factions says the split could 1 be patched up if Moore wanted it.

The White House as long as two months ago thought Moore was going to run for governor again. And when President Nixon appointed K. K. Hall, a Democrat, to the federal judgeship, a lot of Republicans interpreted that as a writeoff of West Virginia by Nixon. But more recently polls have been showing Moore in a more favorable light against Randolph, and some key Republicans say it is conceivable Nixon people would try to patch up the split for a Moore-Underwood ticket with Moore possibly running for the Senate and Underwood for Governor.

Moore hasn't said what he intends to do, if in fact he has made a decision. But one theory has it that Republicans may lose half a dozen U. S. senators next year and Moore presents at Isast an even chance that the GOP can reduce that anticipated loss. Meanwhile, some in the party in West Virginia feel that split would hurt the chance of victory by Board of Public Works candidates if Moore runs for the Senate.

They say the split affected to some degree all the Republicans running on the ticket in 1968, and particularly hurt two candidates. SHORTS--Hubert Humphrey is looking for a campaign manager in West Sen. David Wallace, D-Boone, returned to work last week after an illness and tests at a Charleston hospital. He was told he has been working too hard and to' slow down. Troy Hendricks of Madison, Sen.

Wallace's campaign manager in 1970, has decided against running for secretary of state since Senate President Hans announced. Hendricks sent out 400 letters to his supporters telling them he is backing McCourt. A special centennial edition of the Hinton Daily News bore a Page 1 dedication to Rep. James Kee who, in the words of Publisher John E. Faulconer, "has done more to promote the well-being of Summers County and its citizens than any other person in Summers County's 100-year William H.

Gillespie, administrative assistant to" Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglas, is on leave of absence until Jan. 10 to work on a West Virginia University project in Africa. time sheriff of Boone County, Johnny Protan is going to run for sheriff again. Speaker Lewis McManus, D-Raleigh, isn't going to a MARY McGRORY GAZETTE-MAIL Charleston, West Virginia, Sunday, January 2, 1972 Page 2C Vol.15 No.l So Don't Knock Football Calling a Tax a Tax The way it works out, a value added tax is a sales tax. That is to say, it ultimately is paid by the consumer, and it would be reason.

able to question whether a value on a.national, scale is.the best way to raise money for But to date it is the only new method proposed, and it is better than nothing. Public reaction to customary school support taxes on the local level in recent years suggests a serious look at the proposal a highly placed Nixon appointee says the President will make very soon. Elliott Richardson, secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, revealed in the last week of 1971 that he expects Mr. Nixon to propose a national three per cent value added tax on goods and services. Value added taxes are paid by businesses, but this doesn't fool anybody.

They are passed on to consumer in the form of higher prices, and thus become, essentially; a sales tax. Tax reformers invariably note that sales taxes inflict less damage upon the rich man's pocketbook than upon the poor man's. But the nature of the proposed tax aside, Mr. Nixon. presumably has decided to come to grips with the widespread rebellion against rising property taxes which has doomed so school- levies.

Wouldn't there be similar dissatisfaction national levy which would not only raise the price of consumer goods but permit federal funds to replace the "local" taxes which have traditionally supported schools? Who knows? We have all encountered mounting hostility to rising property taxes which, in their way, are as unfair as a sales tax. Old people and others on fixed incomes have a legitimate complaint. Further, it has been noted that it penalizes those who set out to improve run down property, and that this accounts for the seedy appearance of some "downtown" areas in cities. Indeed, a Texas court has held that disproportionate reliance upon the property tax for school support is discriminatory and unconstitutional. American a a might cheerfully pay, through increased prices, a federal levy that would keep their schools up to date and protect them, at the same time, from more burdensome property taxes.

There is a clue to what taxpayers might prefer. After all, candidates for President usually avoid the word "taxes" arid Mr. Nixon has'defied' that law. Mr. Nixon is no dummy when it comes to campaign strategy.

White-Only School Rule Should Help Because of a recent Supreme Court decision, the "segregation academies" conceived in bitter-end opposition to racial reality will be paid for by those who use them not by the American taxpayers. The unanimous decision of the Burger Court held that private, segregated schools aren't exempt from taxation. The schools had sprung up in many areas, a transparent attempt to maintain public-supported schools for whites only. hope the attempt will be the 1 last tp circumvent the just and hu- 'Inane desegregation ruling of 1954 'and thatAmericans everywhere will resolve; to let their children in peace with their neighbors. WASHINGTON-Much criticism has been leveled at football and television for this year's pigskin observance of Christmas weekend, and it is true that the Astro-Turf blanketed the manager and that the Chiefs and Dolphins completely wiped out the sheo- herds, the wise men and the herald angels.

But we shoud not be too hasty in our condemnation. Some traditionalists, particularly those Who do not know Larry Csonka from Santa Claus, suffered a great deal opening of presents, once a high point, was discouraged. The of the paper irritated the watchers. A woman I know heard her son breathe "That's beautiful," and thought him smitten with the rugby shirt she had quietly unwrapped for him 1 He was, however, referring to a forward pass to Stu Voigt. The scene in many American households was distinctly not Dickensian.

The men sat slumped in their chairs staring at the screen, muttering an occasional oath or cheer. The women crept around 1 like airline stewardesses, whispe- ing offers of. beverages. As they passed the glowing box, they remembered to bow down, as if before some god, so there was a little religious quality about it after all. CONVERSATION, of course, was strictly forbidden, but on the other hand, it cut down on those confrontations and' tensions that sometimes occur at family gatherings.

Anyone who arrived after the game started received only a wordless greeting and a chair, and Gladys and 1 Agnes, who haven't spoken to each other for several years, could sit down side by side in amity and cluck together over a fumble. So don't knock football. It completely eliminated 1 what- the weary consider the moist' intolerable burden of the season--that is, to be merry. After the final gun was fired, all that was required was to blink and say, "Oh, I didn't know you were here." Nonetheless, were some incidents of violence reported. An ancient lady was gashed ia the wrist by her grand-nephew at the dinner table the set had been dragged in--but the lad 1 meant no harm.

He was urging on Jethro Pugh and made too wide a sweep with his knife. He promised to call the doctor promptly when the game ended. Unfortunately, the 35 seconds went on for an hour and his kinswoman was heard to say that the world hod gone mad, but no offense was taken. Allowance was made for her great age. CASE was that of a normally kindly grandfa-.

ther who roundly cursed his 3-year-old grandson when the latter blundered across his field of vision. The child screamed and his mother burst into tears. At the half, amends were made. Grandpa offered the toddler a season ticket to next year's Redskins games. of inspiration, stadium-style, lighted 1 up the watch.

The President called up the Redskins after their loss, and told them that, no matter what their failures, he still 1 loved them'. Was there a better expression 1 of the Christmas spirit? And Garo Yepremian of the Dolphins reached for another when he said: "After I kicked the ball, I looked 1 up at the sky and thanked God for giving me the chance to kick it." It's not "The Messiah," perhaps, but it was certainly in keeping with this year's spiritual perspectives. Christmas has been getting out of hand, anyway. People arrive at it as the players to the locker-room after the LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Let Old Labor Wars Die statewide office, but witt seek re-election. Some Democrats disgruntled with Sen Robert C.

Byrd plan to pin him down to whether he is going to work actively for the Democratic party. Road Commissioner Burl Sawyers is a member of Kanawha County Circuit Clerk Jack Pauley's Century Club which has a $100 membership fee. State Sen. Dan Dahill of Logan is considering getting in the secretary of state race. The field of Democratic candidates for office of secretary of state has caused many a i Republicans to clamor for a strong candidate in that race and most are looking at Tax Commissioner Charles Haden III.

-Haden appears to be leaning for attorney general if Moore runs for governor. The movement to groom Welfare Commissioner Edwin F. Flowers as a gubernatorial candidate on the Republican ticket if Moore runs for Senate has turned cool. Moore isn't expected' to be in any hurry to announce his intentions in the election because there is a strong possibility that the legislature will extend the filing deadline past Feb. 5, giving candidates more time.

The matter has been discussed and so has the possibility of moving the primary election back to within a month and a half of the gene Remember that suit filed by Clinton Black, a candidate for mayor, that alleged racial discrimination was being practiced by Gov. Moore, and by Jay Rockefeller as a member of the West Virginia Housing Development The chairman of the State Human Rights Commission says it is being processed, but that was one case in which the commission wasn't satisfied with the handling by a staff member whose resignation was accepted. The proper use and misuse of state cars is often debated-. Is it proper to stop off -at a girl friend's house with the car parked outside? Is it proper for a department head to drive a state car to his home each day about an hour's drive from Charleston, and to take with him a female passenger? Is it proper for another department head to use a state car as a lead 1 car for transporting his mobile home? Is it proper for state cars to be driven to Kanawha City restaurant for lunch? These cases have happened and two of them continue. Former Sen.

Lyle A. Smith isn't interested in running-for Senate again. game--battered and weary. And football-watching makes presents obsolete; it may even take the turkey out of Christmas. Why bother with the four vegetables, ttre three pies and the suet pudding? Arthur Daley reported in The New York Times that he sat with the Dolphins and Chiefs alone in the living room, while his family gathered around the festive board.

For this, the television dinner will be good enough. Despite the good side of it all, many people maintained that it was a desecration of the "gracious and hallowed But violations were occurring or about to occur all over the place. These were the massacres in Bengal and the bombing of North Vietnam, which was resumed by the President the same weekend the Redskins lost. At least, the men who mauled each other for eight hours on Christmas Day were being well paid to do it, and 1 no children were involved 1 Maybe it was an odd observance of the day set aside for gentleness and good cheer. But if we're the kind of people whose idea of "Joy to the World" is silting speechless and joyless in front of a lighted box, maybe we ought to know about it.

These Were Scientists? declamation performances of Sen. Hubert Horatio Humphrey have left many audiences glassy- eyed. As vice president, he addressed an Associated Press luncheon at the Waldorf in New York to honor the nation's newspaper publishers for an hour and 18 minutes. the ebullient Mr. Humphrey has never learned that the mind rarely can withstand more the coccyx, no matter how; profound the subject and how brilliant the speaker.

Oh the other hand the Humphrey penchant for speaking at great length on myriad matters popping into his head, regardless of the talk he has chosen or been asked to deliver, is well known and hasn't reduced his platform appearances. Consequently, it must be supposed that many people enjoy listening to what he has ttf say. Some, of course, do not, but it's to be doubted that more than a handful of these would be disposed to assault Mr. Humphrey with a ripe tomato and paper gliders and to maintain' a running dialogue throughout a brief--for minute speech. Yet that's what happened Monday at, of all assemblies, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Philadelphia.

A tiny group heckled Humphrey continuously. Yes, the group was composed of scientists. But what kind of scientist is he who declines to hear an invited guest and uses the occasion to em- barrass both guest and his own organization? --Engelhardt, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 'Poor Chap--And After All His Years of Watching Out For That From the Editor: W. C.

Blizzard, in his critical review of H. B. Lee's "My (Magazine Section of Sunday Gazette-Mail, Dec. 26,) unintentionally points out one of the serious problems standing in the way of real progress here in West Virginia. The reviewer is son of Bill Blizzard, the famous United Mine Workers labor "organizer, and naturally biased for labor 'as; he in his review.

Howard Lee was Republican attorney general from 1928 to 1932. As such it was necessary for him to take some legal action against some of the more radical union members, and in so doing he has won the undying enmity of organized labor. Blizzard, in his review, labels Lee as a company man and claims Lee is as biased for the company side as he, Blizzard, is for the union. The charge of bias against Lee is somewhat unfair. Lee related many instances in his book which are just as damning of the old-fashioned agernent -of the early mines here in West Virginia as anything he says about unfair labor practices.

It is doubtful if any criticism of labor could be found hi the writings of W. C. Blizzard. Keeping alive this feud between labor and management is somewhat reminiscent of the fierce battle going on in the Deep South over the Civil War. The war has been long since settled.

Right or wrong it is over, but many of the old timers refuse to let it die. Blizzard and some others of similar bias refuse to move. ahead and let the. old mine wars die. Lee does a service in relat- ing some of the malpractices which plagued the early coal mine enterprises, but we have come a long way since that time.

Through legislation and, efforts of organized labor the work in the mines has become the highest-paid steady employment in the world. In many mines the accident frequency rates are better than the average for all industry. If we are to continue to progress in the coalfields as well as in other industry in West Virginia, we must move beyond the era of confrontation of labor and management into an era of cooperation. It can be done. I am on a committee composed of both labor and man, agement people trying to find ways to improve safety in the mines and other industry here in West Virginia.

When this committee was formed, I am sure we were all apprehensive lest sharp conflict break out between the labor and management representatives. Actually this has been no problem. There has' been no substantial disagreement either as to the cause of accidents or what steps can be taken to improve the situation. The spirit of cooperation has been a revelation. If we could establish this same spirit of cooperation in other areas where labor and management must work together, we could truly open up a new era West Virginia.

It is i to cast off the old enmity that' has plagued us and work together for the common good. Elmer A. Fike, Box 546, Nitro Hands Dirty? Editor: I wonder girls and boys, old ladies and policemen will lose their lives to killers before someone with guts is elected that will take a stand to stop these atrocities. Some educated yokel ran out and got together a bunch of phoney statistics and convinced the legislators that capital. puishiment won't work.

Yet we read in the newspapers that its not safe to be on the streets or in the home without a gun or a mean German shepherd. The killings are the results of the system we live in today, politicians gaining control of our government instead of leaders. The little girl in Nitro, the little boy in Dunbar, the little girl in Charleston, the old lady in Charleston, the 110 policemen in the U. the blood of all these people that were murdered is on the hands of you people that have not taken your stand for capital punishment. The Bible asks the question "Who shall see God?" The.answer was "Only he who hath clean hands and a pure heart." Are your hnds dirty? Sam Sayre 143 Moran Ave.

Dunbar.