Bennington Banner from Bennington, Vermont • 4

7 4 4 Bennington Banner, Monday, October 2,, 1978 The step down The Bennington Banner Published every day except Sundays and holidays by the BANNER PUBLISHING CORPORATION 425 Main Street, Bennington, Vermont 05201 Editorial Smoke in the eyes If 1 May Say So It suddenly struck By GERALD RAFTERY SUNDERLAND. I WAS READING the other day about a legislator down in New Jersey who is offering a bill to provide some special holidays for his state, and it occurred to me that Vermont could use a few new holidays, too. The Jerseyan, was proposing such ideas as Inventors Day on poma Edisons birthday.and Artists Day on Walt Whitman birthday, along with a few other days to honor Woodrow Wilson and Dorothy Dix. (Yes, I checked and he didnt mean Dorothea, either. I checked a list of holidays in other states for some ideas, and I noted that Texas celebrates Lyndon Johnsons birthday.

just as Missouri observes Harry Trumans. There didnft seem to be much help there; I doubt if we could drum up any enthusiasm for marking the birthday of Chester A. Arthur, and, of course, Calvin Coolidge was bom on Jiily 4, which eliminates that. 1 Texas celebrates its Independence Day, and some state notes their Admission Day, when they entered the union. Actually, we could observe both; we set up as an independent" state on Jan.

15, 1777, and then joined the union on March 4, 1791 That first date would be all right, but the second one comes close to Town Meeting Day, one of our only two state holidays. Lepelley In The Christian Science Monitor loathsome habit but it is one that millions of Americans pursue and, quite possibly, enjoy. And smokers have their rights ooops, their interests as well as nonsmokers. The question is. how to balance these interests.

Clearly, smoke in the air can ruin a restaurant meal for nonsmokers. Just as clearly, one of the greatest pleasures of a good dinner for a smoker is to cap it with a fine cigar or slowly inhaled cigarette. Whats the resolution of these conflicting interests? Twin restaurants similar to twin cinemas, or special smoking sections? The latter seems more reasonable than a ban on smoking in restaurants, and sounds more economic than erecting cement-block partitions. In any other given spot airplanes, public parks, bus terminals there would be a similar conflict of interests. No evidence shows that the presence of ambient tobacco smoke in the air is a clear danger to health.

A public law banning smoking in such places is simply not fair to smokers, and would mean that the conflict is resolved by disregarding the interests of one group in favor of the other. We sympathize with non-smokers who are annoyed by tobacco hazes, or who suffer allergic reactions, and hope that the. California proposition puts smokers on clear notice that they must be mindful of the effects of lighting a butt at a crowded lunclj counter. Proposition 5 is not the best way' to resolve the conflict, but a narrow defeat might drive home a point about the rights of non- In California, our trendiest state, ballot referenda have become one of the most popular innovations of the day. Proposition 13, which cut property taxes, is the most famous, of course, but there are many others.

One of the most intriguing and controversial on the November ballot is Proposition 5, which would sharply1 curtail smoking in public places and private The tobacco companies estimate that if every smoker in America cut his consumption of the noxious weed by one cigarette a day, the industry would lose about $450 million. This hardly has our cheeks wet with tears, but you can bet the major producers pouring money into California in an effort to block Proposition 5. Were surprised that the undertakers of California arent joining the tobacco producers in lobbying against Proposition 5, because smoking, with its documented side effects of heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema and chronic coughing, has been a boon to the mortuary business for decades. The California ballot proposition is an attempt to assert non-smokers rights. It seems that now every imaginable group from West Bank Palestinians to transvestite teachers in San Franciso have their own rights, loosely based on their own conception of fair play or Sn the U.S.

1 Constitution, and always firmly based on their own self-interest. Rights is a misleading term because it suggests something carved in stone, when really what is being talked about are interests and principles." Smoking may a T.R.B.from Washington Clackety-clack, clackety-clack tli'l fji THEN I CAME up with another thought. How about a Taxpayers Independence Day! Statisticians have figured out that something over 40 percent of our income goes to pay taxes, so we actually work until along about the end of May each year, exclusively for the government. Then we start working for ourselves. And May is a nice time for a holiday, whatever the reason.

Of course, the tax load varies from state to state, and we in Vermont pay the second highest tax total in the country. Perhaps our Taxpayers Independence Day would come later than the rest, maybe in June, just as New Hampshires would probably come early, possibly even in April. This would be useful to Proposition 13 advocates, because it could dramatize their position. If we could only get rival candidates for office promising to move taxpayers In dependence Day back toward Town Meeting Day, we would have a very pleasant type of competition. 0 4 ANY HOLIDAY program should also consider our cultural activities and local customs, and two of the most popular of these are the auction and the tag sale.

Here we run into a real problem; an Auction Day is a possibility, but we really should observe a whole Tag Sale Weekend. As a matter of fact, we probably should have more than one tag sale weekend. July 4 and Labor Day weekends would be popular choices, add the foliage season also brings out its profusion of colorful sales signs. Maybe we could celebrate dll three, and even designate the last two weeks in August as Tag Sale Fortnight. Weve been doing it all along, so why not make it official.

I Jrp, Another local custom of late has been boiling the Water'. Of course, this isnt 4 new thing in Vermont, or in any rural area. Long before doctors became aware of viruses, our sturdy forefathers had discovered the summer COM-plaint, and they fought it forthrightly by restricting their liquid intake to hard cider. Maybe we could revive this quaint old custom by establishing a Dont-Drink-the-Water preferably during the warmer days of July. Im sure the producers of beer and soda (and hard cider) would be delighted to publicize such a celebration.

0 THEN, THINKING about hard cider, it suddenly struck me. We have never adequately honored Ethan Allen. I still remember the disappointment of a city friend of mine on his first visit to Bennington. He had long been an admirer of Ethan Allen, so he expected to find some local establishment named The New Catamount Tavern, probably featuring Ethan Allens special the Stone Fence, a robust concoction of applejack in' hard cider. Something solid to lean against, it was said.

I think we should take steps to see that no one else is ever disappointed in that way. A Dont-Drink-the-Water-in-Remembrance-of-Ethan-Allen Week, would have a great deal of popular appeal. We produce plenty of hard cider and we could import the applejack from New Jersey where it was invented (by a Tory, I believe). We might even schedule one such week every month, and that would go a long way toward solving our water problems. -Editors Note- fciill IMf.

Ml Jl.lU Mlf We hope the people who stopped by The Banners office Friday evening for the open house enjoyed "the computer demonstrations, or, at least, the food. If you were unable to attend, any afternoon you are in the office here on Main Street, walk upstairs and ask the staff to show you how the electronic typesetting system is operated. Benningtons new radio station, WHGC-FM, launched into its first broadcast day this morning with John Denver crooning Rocky Mountain High. We wish the station and hope that WHGC serves the citizens of Bennington well. "COURAGE! THE RESCUE FORCE IS ON THE THIS ELECTION may be notable in another way the lowest turnout in modem times.

It is a sad record: The turnout as a percentage of those eligible was 46.1 percent in 1962; 45.4 percent in 1966; 43.5 percent in 1970; 38 percent in 1974. It goes steadily down hill, a worring sign of political decadence. In Canada 70 to 75 percent voteftn the U.S. it is harder and harder to tell the parties apart; more and more people say, whats the use. Fewer, and fewer vote.

It is a vicious circle. turn to one-shot, non- compromising, single pressure1 groups, like the gun lobby or the anti-abortion lobby. One of the biggest battles this year is the referendum in Missouri to enact a right-to-work law. Rival sides are spending millions. Twenty states have such laws now, mostly in the south: This is an effort by militant conservatives to carry the fight into the first big industrialized state, a kind of Proposition 13 in labor relations.

Theres a lot of talk about Teddy Kennedy running for president in 1980. 1 discount it. Cartels withdrawal would be an admission of party failure. Kennedy will be chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee next year, succeeding the reactionary Eastland of Mississippi. And, Kennedy, born in 1932, is only 46.

People forget that. He can wait. In election year 1992, for example, he will still be younger than Jerry Ford or Ronald Reagan now are in 1978. Letter The To the Editor of The Having listened to the testimony at the wilderness hearing in Rutland, I think I should begin this letter by stating that I was not bom in Vermont. Im here because, having lived -other places, I chose Vermont.

Im fighting for wilderness areas because I believe we need them to help maintain what Vermont means, not Only to us foreigners but to those blessed with having been bom here and even to those opposing the wilderness designations. I think of myself as a fortunate citizen of a pain-racked world and am goaded by the passage, Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required. I do not hunt or ski or snowmobile although I am aware of the values of each. I do not lumber or mine but am aware of the value of resources including forests and wilder- Letters to the Editor are welcome and must include signature "and address of the sender. Letters of 200 words or lessare preferable.

despite eager Republican efforts to pump up the Kemp-Roth tax issue. The Republican minority is about as low as it can go one to two in the House, and one to three in the Senate, but this doesnt mean so much when party lines are eroding. In 1974 Democrats gained 43 House seats at mid-. term, right after the Nixon resignation. It was different in 1970 when Nixon, supported by the alliterative Spiro Agnew, made one of the most hateful mid-, term presidential drives on record, -testing the theory of mw ciiont moinritv nnH great silent majority and accusing opponents of being soft on violence and permissiveness.

At San Jose he attacked anti-war protests as the work of thugs and hoodlums. Democrats gained 12 seats. Time magazine called it a Republican the shrill pitch did not work. Nixon, however, hailed it as a tremendous success. Then, as always, it was astonishing to sea his coldness, skill and audacity.

0 THIS REPORTER went into 1 the White House with a colleague in 1966 to visit Lyndon Johnson on another matter, and the subject of the impending election naturally came up. Why should he put his prestige on the line, we wondered, when the out party normally won 25 to .30 seats at mid-term? In the face of our statistics Johnson vehemently denied that the bounce-back rule would apply, at least to him. Later, however, he cited the figures at a press conference, and abruptly called off a 10-state campaign tour. Republicans, in fact, gained 47 seats. Peter Teeley, amiable director of communications of the Republican National Committee, is the latest to deny the bounce-back phenomenon.

Challenging a statement by Democratic chairman John White, which I quoted elsewhere, that the outrparty normally gains about 30 seats at off-years, Teeley writes me, MMr. White is not exactly correct. The average loss in the House to the party controlling the White House is six seats in the presidents first term. It is in the 'second term where the heavy losses occur. The latter losses have averaged, he says, 54 seats since the Roosevelt administration.

Tut, tut, Mr. Teeley. This is a nice alibi, I think, for an expected poor showing. My figuFes are subject to correction Truman lost 56 seats in his first term in 1946; Ike 19 in 1954; Kennedy two in 1962, and Nixon 12 in 1970, as cited earlier. It would be unfair to average in that 43-seat loss of poor Jerry Ford in 1974.

But even so, it comes to about 20 seats, not six, as the Teeley variant of the bounce-back law calculates it. In fact this is the only time the variant has ever been cited, so far. as I know, and speaks well for the imagination of GOP GHQ. WASHINGTON. BY GOLLY, groaned President Eisenhower to Jim Haggerty after he had campaigned up and down the country in the mid-term election of 1954, sometimes you get tired of all this clackety-clack He had reason to sign.

Democrats won 19 House seats. Yes, all his efforts and all those of Vice President Nixon, who flew 26,000 miles preaching that Democrats were soft Oh overcome the tradition that the" out party gains House seats at mid-term. Poor Ike; he saw Democrats take control of Congress in 1955 which they have held ever since years. Now theres another midterm election in five weeks and Republicans theoretically should gain a lot of seats. Will they? Or are they finished as a party (as some say).

And is the two-party system collapsing too? With the single exception of 1934 (when the New Deal' hurricane was still blowing and Democrats gained 14 more House seats) the out party has won at every mid-term since President Buchanan in 1858 and thats as far back as my figures go. What with polls and primaries the media have become a kind of umpire in campaigns, and I can see a political plenum press pundits getting ready now to go to work. It wasnt that Ed Muskie lacked a majority in the New Hampshire presidential primary in 1972 he won; but the press had picked him as front runner and handicapped him to break 50 percent to win. He got 46 percent, more than anybody else, but the men in TV booths and editors in newsrooms said it was a defeat. Four years earlier, Lyndon Johnsons showing wasnt up to press expectations in New Hampshire either.

Both men later dropped out. WHY SHOULD the opposition party make gains at mid-term? The president in office has less unifying and nationalizing influence than he had as a candidate explained political scientist Arthur Millspaugh. The congressional candidates of the opposition party are decidedly on their own. In general, localism prevails and issues are obscured far more than when the public interest is nationally aroused. Thats the way it is Historian James MacGregor Bums said Lets end midterm elections; they dont mean anything and only impair the authority of the White House.

Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson both favored, amending the Constitution to allow congruent presidential-representative terms, to reduce the mid-terms importance. -Well, anyhow, here we go again and this time Jimmy Carters authority doesnt seem likely to be much affected value of wilderness1 ness as it applies' to federal lands. What inakes people think that Homo sapiens knows the best ways to manage forest land? Girdling stands of trees did not indicate it. What makes people think that the Forest Service may not be as subject to devastating pressures, as other agencies? I am not condemning the Forest Service. Im just trying to point out that compared to natural law, we are ignorant and weak.

We need wilderness from which to learn and we need to protect it against our Weakness and ignorance. We need to know more than we do about the ways of nature, to further understand its cycles and changes, its cataclysms and healings, the natural destruction which accompanies growth and much more beyond our knowledge and ability to mention. We need to guard against our insatiable greed and conceit. I have been told that some of the land under consideration for wilderness in Vermont produces a higher than average yield of lumber. This is valuable, but so are other things.

We have been managing it for only a short time. We do not know the long-term results of what we do. Too many of our practices have backfired to our surprise and distress. We need these areas designated as wilderness in order to learn more of natures methods which developed and sustained good forests and other ecosystems without our assistance. We may need it to preserve much-needed forms of life which, without it, may be lost.

1 As for jobs, better insulation and better utilization of land in Vermont communities could supply more jobs, comfort and pleasure than can be supplied by the controversial areas as now used. Beyond this, development of diverse, clean, renewable energy sources are what we should be projecting for future jobs. Almost every machine requiring energy today be it chain saw, conveyor belt or automobile uses up resources, fouls the air breathe and deteriorates health. When will we ever learn? GLADYS LODGE Co-President Vermont Natural Food and Fanning Assoc. Dorset..