Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 14

1 WxbuM Efittatal ptg? Wonder how big it really is A RESPONSIBLE METROPOLITAN NEWSPAPER EDITED HOME OWNED' AND 14 MONDAY, JULY 17, 1972 EDITORIALS Welfare Reform: A Floor-Fight Is Anticipated By MICHAEL A. CARSON I WASHINGTON A showdown on the long-awaited welfare reform proposals whether it will be workfare or the Family Assistance Plan Is due on the Senate floor before summers end. The Senate Finance Committee tentatively approved the bill June 13, a year after the House passed the Family Assistance Plan proposed by President Nixon. The Finance Committees bill contains the wprkfare provision, which is opposed by the administration and by Senate liberals, led by Connecticut Democrat Abraham Ribicoff. Under workfare, it would be more difficult to qualify for welfare than under the Family Assistance Plan.

Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, says the administration will oppose the Senate committees bill. A News Blackout Wont Solve Hijacking Problems 'The nations press, at one time or another has been blamed for just about every ill that has befallen the country. Whether its a street riot or the defeat of somebodys favorite candidate, a way can generally be found to lay the responsibility at the' feet of the media, whether written or spoken. 'The sole exception may be natural catastrophes and, indeed, there are undoubtedly some whod be happy to blame us for even floods and earthquakes if only a plausible rationale could be found.

This is unfortunate but it is certainly not a new phenomenon. There just arent that many original ideas floating around. Per1 sons with twisted or criminal minds generally do emulate the so-called successes of others. Whether they are a Hitler waging war, a would-be assassin or a safe cracker, they can look to the written word, be it in history books or current news pages, for information and even inspiration. Indeed many totalitarian states today rigidly suppress any news thats not to their governments liking.

Were not sure yet, whether the Red Chinese people are aware Editofe note: The opinions offend by the signed columnists on their own and art presented to give readers a variety of viewpoints. The Tribune's opinions essed only in editorials. of U.S. ventures on the moon. Unrest by Soviet intellectuals is seldom reported in the Russian press.

ioaSfew Letters to The Forum Now its apparently the turn of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers organizations president, John F. Leyden, is complaining that news of airline hijackings are to blame for new hijacking attempts. In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary John A. Volpe, Leyden has called for strict controls on information made available to the press regarding hijackings.

He wrote: I strongly suggest that you immediately undertake steps to place an immediate (news) blackout on hijacking attempts. It would be less than realistic to maintain that news accounts of hijackings may not in some way have influenced the commission of subsequent hijackings. The apparently successful parachute hijacking by a man calling himself D. B. Cooper was widely reported and its techniques have clearly been copied by others since.

But this is not the way of a land with a free press. There is nothing so compelling or unique about airline crimes as to warrant changing our'free press traditions. Would the suppression of the news of murders, rapes, or robberies end such crimes? Or eliminate their causes? We think not Such suppression would only fail to alert those in danger of the need to establish ade-. quate safeguards. Better methods of preventing airline hijackings must be devised.

But this is hardly the only problem facing law enforcement officials today. Better means must also be devised, for instance, for dealing with such current problems as street crime and the narcotics traffic. The solution is not to slap a news blackout on the problems and then hope they will go away of their own accord. Ribicoff, a former HEW secretary, commented: It is one of the most regressive bills Ive seen. It goes back to the Elizabethan poor laws.

Praise for workfare comes from one of its chief sponsors, Louisiana Democrat Russell B. Long, Finance Committee chairman. In a radio address to his constituents, Long said it is a fine bill biggest undertaking" in the social welfare field in the history of the country. Under workfare, families headed by able-bodied fathers and families headed by mothers with no children under age six would be ineligible for welfare. The heads of those families would be offered federally guaranteed employment at a wage of $1.20 an hour.

The Family Assistance Plan would provide an annual federal payment of $2,400 to a family of four with no outside income. Only families headed by a woman with young children or by an incapacitated adult would be eligible. Families headed by employable adults would be assisted under a program requiring the family heads to register for work or training. Ribicoff announced last October that he favored an annual payment of $3,000 for a family of four with no outside income. The payment would be gradually increased until 1976 to whatever figure the Social Security Administration designated as the poverty level Although the welfare provisions are the most Controversial' the House-passed bill and Senate committee bill also contain provisions increasing Social Security benefits, making changes in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and providing assistance for the needy aged, blind and disabled.

Ribicoff and Richardson make their objections to workfare clear. They call it workfare, but I call if slavefare. Im against workfare under all circumstances, Ribicoff said. The provisions of HR 1 (the House-passed bill) represent as far as it makes sense to go without creating a degree of intrusiveness and. coercion that would impair the work ethic and work incentive objectives, Richardson said.

Long is aware of the possibility of a floor fight and is prepared to do his best to sell workfare to the Senate. I think and I hope that President is going to sort of remain aloof from this fight Those of us who have analyzed it feel that a great number of people would prefer just not to work at all and live on welfare. Ribicoff had hoped that liberals and the administration could work out a compromise so that workfare could be deleted from the bill on the Senate floor and replaced with a Family As-sitance Plan with an annual federal payment to a family of four between $2,400 and $3,000. President Nixon, however, rejected a compromise and said he hoped the Senate would pass his plan. Ribicoff said the Presidents decision means that welfare reform is dead.

The administration disagrees. Clark MacGregor, former counselor to the President for congressional liaison, says: If the committee proposal fails and the Ribicoff proposal fails, I hope they will look to the House-passed version The centrist position is enhanced when both the conservatives and liberals have been defeated. Fischers Unfortunate Behavior Immunity For McGovern? EDITOR: During the summer or early fall of 1971, Senator George McGovern was offered the classified, top-secret Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg. At the time, McGovern refused to accept them, saying he (Ellsberg) came to me and told me that such papers existed. I told him that I felt, as a lawmaker, that I could not be in the business of breaking the law, but I did make it clear to him that I thought it would serve the public interest if he made those documents available to a respectable newspaper.

I think Mr. Ellsberg took the proper course when he went to The New York Times. In so advising Ellsberg, McGovern was recommending the commission of a crime for which Ellsberg is presently being tried In a federal court in California. Should McGovern not now be called as a witness in the Ellsberg case or before a grand jury? McGovern enjoys no immunity from such testimony, in view of the recent decision of the Supreme Court in the Gravel case. How could anyone be sure that if McGovern became President, he would not again commit an equally irresponsible and perhaps more dangerous act in violation of his oath of office as Presi- -dent? PAUL CHIERA, Oakland.

Korean Neutrality Bobby Fischers outlandish behavior at the world championship chess match at Reykjavik, Iceland, may well have accomplished what most of the experts say his opponent could not do beat him. Fischer, the American grandmaster, forfeited the second game of the 24-game match after losing the first game to his Russian opponent, Boris Spassky. Fisher won the third game today. Fischer failed to show up and therefore forfeited the second game apparently because the presence of three nearby, but hidden and silent, movie cameras unnerved him. The right to film the match was one of the conditions Fischer agreed to, to help raise the more than $250,000 purse that goes to the two competitors.

It was just another of a long list of complaints by Fischer which caused delay after delay before and during the match. Ilis demand for more money stalled the opening of the match. Fischers behavior before the games began was, at best, questionable, but his latest actions are most embarrassing to the U.S., which he represents in the worlds eyes. More was expected of Fischer, even if he had been noted for his stormy activities up to and during past chess tournaments. Since he began his career 15 years ago at the age of 14, he has been called a lot of things including erratic, egocentric, a genius, a wizard, temperamental, sullen, unpredictable, pdtient, a prima donna, highly controversial and a machine.

So far, he has lived up to his reputation. It is difficult to understand why a man to whom chess means virtually everything in the world would throw it all away in a fit of obstmance. Austrian grandmaster Hans Kmoch has said of Fischer, Finally the U.S. produces its greatest chess genius and he turns out to be a stubborn boy. Whether Fischer continues the match hardly seems to matter now.

He has thoroughly embarrassed the United States. Even if he comes from behind to score a victory, it would not be one in which his fellow countrymen could take particular pride. neutrality of Korea by the above mentioned powers and that Korea would not be involved either militarily or politically in the game of power politics; absolutely no foreign countries establish military bases on the territory of Korea; and Korea will maintain and defend the neutrality with all means at her disposal. This formula conforms with the national Interests of the Korean people and would pave the way for rapid peaceful unification of the country, for the establishment of a single democratic national government based on self-determination, and for the future protection of national Independence and territorial Integrity. It would also reduce tension in the Far East generally and would contribute a durable peace in that part of the world.

BONG-YOUN CHOG, Berkeley. Sufficient Gun Laws EDITOR: The proposed law, approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, to place more restrictions on the sale of handguns can lead to chaos. Once a stone is thrown into a pond, the ripples and waves cannot be stopped. there will be an inviting black market in the sale of small handguns. Also, the honest man shall be forced to become criminal by resorting to this black market and illegal guns to protect his life, family and home.

The underworld shall become enriched and very powerful through illegal sales of guns. The habitual felon who now does not use guns will avail himself of guns with the fulsome hope that fewer taxpayers and honest men will have arms, especially in the home. Secondly, crime will increase with both society and felons hysterically armed. The felon will have the advantage of caring not if their guns are registered, illegal or stolen. As the average responsible man feels compelled to buy illegal guns, local laws, and laws of the land will be less and less respected.

Present laws concerning guns are sufficient. BILLIARD H. GORDON, Oakland. Outlaw All Weapons? EDITOR: As long as we have a bunch of Idiotic senators and other lawmakers that want more gun laws and propose that only police and the military be allowed to possess guns, why not go a step further and make it so that only carpenters may have saws and hammers, only blacksmiths may have mauls, etc. Only electricians may have soldering irons, only plumbers may have pipe wrenches, and so on throughout all of the trades.

All of the above are potential murder weapons. I have guns in my home, but I also have knives, saws, hammers, poisons, and I can even make gunpowder if I need to, but I am a peaceful man and want only to be let alone, that Is one of the reasons for the guns personal protection -which every honest citizen needs in these tryimr times. LOUIS C.HEBEL, Oakland. T1? open to ell rtaiohable opinion. Brief, legible letters receive preference.

All must be signed. A CONSERVATIVE VIEW By JAMES J. KILPATRICK EDITOR: A light of new hope for the unification of Korea has sparkled by the surprise announcement of North-South Korea accord. At long-last both sides have agreed not to undertake armed provocations against each other and decided to promote mutual understanding and expedite peaceful unification without being subject to external imposition or interference. The peace accord also stipulated that national unity shall be sought above all, transcending differences in ideas, ideologies, and systems.

This new unification formula should be welcomed not only by the Korean people alone, who yearn for it, but also by all the people of the world. Independence is a nations birthright, and liberty is a God-given right of the people. Korea is entitled to have these without any conditions or intervention from foreign powers. Nevertheless, because of the geographical location of Korea, surrounded by Japan, China, and Russia, she became many times a battle ground in the struggle for power: the Sino-Japanese war, 1894,95, the Russo-Japanese war, 1904-5, and the Korean war, 1950-53. It is a historically p-iven fact that as long as Korea has been dominated by any foreign power, there has been no real peace in the Far East, and there can be no durable world peace if Korea is to be dominated by any big power.

Therefore, it seems that the only practical and far-sighted political technique for the solution of Korean problem Is to agree on permanent neutrality of Korea (like that of Austria and Switzerland) by the concerned powers, including the United States, Soviet Union, the Peoples Republic of China, Japan, and Great Britain. The neutrality of Korea means: to guarantee independence and. McGovern: From Nowhere to Victory Six months ago, the prospect seemed Impossible. He rated three to five per cent In the national polls, and he had languished at that level for a solid year. In New Hampshire he was no more than George Who? He was then wandering about hotel dining rooms, shaking hands with customers, waiters and busboys.

He ignited no fires. His victory was laigely a product of two fac- MIAMI BEACH It still is hard to believe, as the TV commercial tells us, that he ate the whole thing. Just six months ago, correspondents who traveled through New Hampshire with George McGovern traveled with a political cipher. Now we will travel with the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. There tnay be, in the shopworn phrase, a great human story behind this.

It has not yet emerged. McGovern has come on so slowly and steadily, in the fashion of a plastic extrusion, that one keeps waiting for more to appear. We know httie, so far, of what makes him laugh or wfeep or cry out in rage. He has spun into view like a carousel charger, caparisoned in computerized tape, more of a symbol than a man of flesh and blood. will change.

One thinks of Wendell Willkie, Alf Landon, Barry Goldwater, even of Adlai Stevenson. In the national view, they too began as nonentities, as enigmas. The remarka. ble thing about McGovern Is that he achieved his triumph In a field once crowded with names far better known: Humphrey, Muskie, Jackson, Lindsay. He ran them Into the ground.

Wad, In a httla put this thing together, in caucuses, in primaries, in tireless labors here in Miami. From the moment the first gavel fell last Monday night his claim on the prize could not be denied. It was a work of great skill. Where does he go from here? The short answer is: Nowhere. Granted, one can write a scenario.

If McGoverns young volunteers can register millions of new voters and then get them to the polls; if McGovern can make peace with the old pros and the leaders of organized labor; if he can modify his own early image as a far-out extremist; if his debt-ridden party can raise the necessary money; if he can rally black support In key states; If Richard Nixon falls into catastrophic blunder if all this develops, while the economy drifts and the war goes Yes. McGovern could make it in November. It Is too much to Imagine. McGoverns coalition Is stuck together with paper clips, Band-aids and hairpins. His support among intellectuals is based not on empathy, but on default His young amateurs produced a marvelous Job in the pre-convention maneuvering, but the presidential election itself is a different horse race.

Here McGovern will need professional help from organized labor, from elected public officials, from governors, mayors, fellow members of Congress. The party has great resilience, andt the party Is hungry. But at this juncture, to speak of a McGovern victory Is to speak of miracles. by Brickman the small society ''omcpoiig HefcA JOGTicz com that cos, maybe youd Ilka to leave something to the campaign ton the strength of his own organization, and the weakness of his opponents. The weakness was fortuitous; the strength was his own.

It ought not to be minimized. As an organizer, as a political tactician, McGovern has to command respect He 7-7 VXicKhM -4 oJkos4eK JCA. -4 B.ui Ahj.iAm.