The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 50

'He Got Aboard but Didn't Show Too Much i THE KANSAS CITY STAR Founded September 18 1880 by William Rockhill Nelson The Kansas City Star Company Owner and Publisher MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press exclusively la entitled to use for republication of all local news published herein as well as all AP dispatches Vol 92 Wednesday July 19 1972 No 306 Strategic Retreat on State Bonds Is the Sensible Course i i Starbeams BUI Vaughan SPORTS ARE a wonderful part of life enabling the really successful athlete to write a book about what a perfectly rotten time he had of it Loud voice in the Bit Erin Bar Grill: call me a deadbeat just say that I am fiscally irresponsible" This was to be the year when the political parties were to avoid favorite sons but baseball's All-Star teams are loaded with them WE HAVE SPENT so much money on the moon that we may expect the imposition of a fee on anyone who wants to look at it A federal industrial safety form lists accidents without lost An even more interesting statistic would involve fatal accidents without lost workdays The airlines are inspecting carry-on luggage and Tilly feels she must upgrade the quality of the junk she lugs aboard THE INCREASE in Social Security then the tax rise It's the latest in the current fad in humor: First the good news then the bad While the job has its drawbacks one advantage of being President is that it guarantees a doctor who will make house calls The self-lighting cigarette gets reinvented every few years when what is really needed is one that will put itself out THE MAN at the next desk says he has no idea what the Sicilian defense is in chess but hopes nothing that will offend any anti-defamation league A father who has been touring with his family reports he got 18 miles per gallon of gasoline but only about five per candy bar We all know that the world is in terrible shape but is that any reason for so many articulate spokesmen to try to out-doom one another? cent charter petition drive every signature was compared with the appropriate registration card for authenticity Until Missouri has a statewide registration law irregularities are bound to crop up Initiative and referendum are useful techniques in a democratic society They offer the public a safety valve to challenge the decisions of official bodies and to take independent action on a problem that has been ignored or too-long deferred The procedures provide no protection however unless the people are fully assured that all names on the petitions are valid Even before discrepancies were revealed in the last week the transportation bonds appeared to have little chance At the latest count 48 county courts and 17 chambers of commerce mostly in rural Missouri had adopted resolutions opposing the bonds In addition 36 organizations and special interest groups some with large statewide memberships had announced they would work against the bonds As election day approached others were expected to take a negative stand Against that background the Missouri Transportation Bond Issue Committee would be well advised to forget the whole thing for now No one can doubt the need or question good intentions But there will be plenty of time to regroup and start over again in the future perhaps with a formula that will win a wider acceptance Any attempt to proceed at this point with many of the signatures in question would serve neither the bond issue committee nor the cause of better transportation in Missouri Maybe the effort to secure approval for Missouri's 730-million-dollar transportation bond package was doomed from the start Substantial opposition to the plan developed months ago and it seemed unlikely that the bonds could win a majority vote in November Despite that obvious handicap however the volunteer civic leaders who headed up the initiative petition drive wanted to give the public a chance to make the final decision at the polls Now it appears that somewhere down the line names were copied from old city directories and other lists in order to swell the number of signatures Some of the names turned in to the secretary of office have been declared forgeries and others appear invalid In the Fifth Congressional District 27 persons whose names appear on petitions have denied signing the petitions Sufficient doubts have been raised to cast a dubious light on the whole affair The promoters of the bond plan have no alternative but to go to court to retrieve the petitions If they do so quickly some of the opponents have indicated they will take legal action to have them thrown out This unfortunate situation has again focused attention on inadequate procedures for checking names on initiative and referendum attempts When the lists come in about all the secretary of state can do is to scan the names and strike off the obvious phonies such as Mae West and Mickey Mouse Few Missouri cities and counties have permanent registration rolls Kansas City and Jackson County do have them In the instance of the re Speaking the Public Indians Trail of Progress for A New Maturity in Outer Space i I I i I ers and all the other groups that have legitimate special interests? We learn that of the California delegation 58 members or over 20 per cent of the delegation were on relief This was just one manifestation of the absurd practical result of a concept that was totally wrong to begin with The only criterion for representation in a democracy should be merit At the Democratic convention hundreds of capable proven leaders were shoved aside so that nonentities could fill their quota slots No wonder they produced such an abominable choice for the presidency That the Democratic party at Miami and Democrats feel bound by the weird results Lee Levin 200 74th ance of its disabled counterpart aiding In repairs or carrying the crew safely back to earth Of more Immediate interest however is what these successful negotiations and ultimately the flight itself say about changing view of space science The frantic dash for pre-eminence originally expressed in the race for the moon has slowed to a more reasonable pursuit of practical goals The universe is infinite The cost of venturing into even the nearer regions of it promises to be enormous possibly prohibitive except to some consortium of participating nations Full cooperation with sharing of money talent and technology may be far in the future But in the rendezvous and docking of that Apollo and Soyuz three years hence the two principal space powers will have passed a commendable milestone of maturity The first US-Soviet joint manned mission in space an unthinkable venture the climate of bitter contest of a decade ago has come nearer realization Space officials from the two countries during two weeks of meetings in Houston have made final the principal technical details and agreed on the profile of the mission now scheduled to be flown in 1975 Briefly a US Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz each carrying two spacemen will be launched separately docking in orbit a day later The two ships will remain attached a total of 48 hours with the American and Russian fliers exchanging visits between their linked ships The exercise has more than symbolic Importance The creation of compatible docking systems means that on space flights of the future a US or Soviet ship could come to the assist i What Was the Name Mr Mayor? Giving It Back Well maybe this country can survive after all Saul closing thoughts in his recent series on the United States brought tears of joy and hope to me: Anita Portwood of Riverton Wyo is 52 a grandmother and an Arapaho Indian who lives on the Wind River reservation in central Wyoming She was born in a tent and recalls that as recently as the middle 50s the biggest hotel in Riverton bore a sign that said dogs or Indians allowed' Portwood was in Miami Beach last week as a Democratic Thank you Mr McGovern Ms Mary Kay Naudet The Montessori School Blue Springs Many Quotas I know who that strange collection of people was on TV last week but it certainly the Democratic party The entire conclave was assembled on a principle utterly repugnant to the democratic process The idea that representation should be based on age sex skin color economic condition etc rather than merit has no place in America It is not only a travesty on democracy it is absurd and unworkable as well Where do the categories end? What quotas were there at Miami for the elderly the disabled the working class the Catholics Protestants Jews the veterans the teach- American chess genius Bobby Fischer (center) faces Russian world champion Boris Spassky across the board (referee Lothar Schmid right) A Kansas City chess fan admires Fischer's skill but deplores some of his erratic behavior Knight Errant ages have their hopes for a World Champion from the United States riding with him Obviously he must first show up for each game and sit down and play to have a chance at winning the match Hopefully he has now shaped up and will play the remaining games win or lose I am still very much a Bobby Fischer fan and admire his play but I can no longer condone his erratic actions which have been his trademark since his success in the game I i Being a member of the United States Chess Federation and enjoying the game of chess as a hobby I have looked forward for many months to the world championship chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky I would like to commend Mr Spassky the current world champion for his gentlemanly conduct during the first week of the match On the other hand Mr conduct has been unsportsmanlike from the beginning Bobby genius in chess is unquestioned He has the highest rating of any player living or dead American chess fans of all But 1960 is not 1972 and there is little chance that Daley can deliver in Chicago as he delivered then Or that deep down inside he really wants to The question is not the lip-service support expressed in a statement (that spoke for itself) but the precinct energy and dollars that the mayor will invest The question is not whether Daley has made his final peace with McGovern (which is improbable considering for example their different viewpoints on the war on law and order and other issues) but whether Daley and his people will embrace the McGovern Democrats of Cook County and Illinois That seems even more improbable All of which seems to leave the national ticket with something less than high hopes in Illinois If Senator McGovern is counting on Daley to flex his muscles vigorously in the manner of the old Daley he had better count again The senator can read statements too and as Mayor Daley said the statement spoke for itself It speak It whispered Mayor Richard Daley still simmering over his role as a nonperson at the recent Democratic festivities in Florida has broken his silence to announce his support for candidate on the Democratic federal state and In his unrestrained enthusiasm the mayor forgot to mention the name of the man who heads that ticket Indeed about all the Chicago political chief said after reading a 102-word statement was that the statement spoke for itself The performance was typically Daley totally predictable and possibly exaggerated in its importance For while Senator McGovern obviously wanted the support of the organization it is by no means clear what that support will mean in November And less clear what Daley himself wants it to mean Certainly the mayor publicly embarrassed at Miami Beach and previously a loser in the two most important state races in the March primary cannot offer the 1972 ticket what he once could offer-say a John Kennedy His backing in Cook County gave the I960 Democratic ticket the state of Illinois and the keys to the White House Dorsh i 9513 Fremont i True Interests As an ex-Missourian I was utterly appalled by the actions of a majority of the Missouri delegation at the recent Democratic convention Especially confusing was the behavior of Governor Heames whom my parents have supported for years One can excuse his lovely misguided daughter but the governor ought to know better as to which candidate represents the best interests of the Democratic party of Missouri Having observed first hand Senator Henry Jackson the last few years it is difficult for me to understand how the governor and his fellow delegates could vote for a senator whose only accomplishments have been to make his state dependent on one industry and give it the highest unemployment rate in the nation This over the senator from South Dakota who is a Midwestern senator and knows first-hand the problems of the workingman and farmer of the Midwest I must assume that the governor and his supporters have cleared their heads of the convention smoke by now and will follow the lead of the 24 delegates who I am sure represent the Democratic party that I remember and get solidly behind Senator McGovern and support the real interests of the Democratic party of Missouri Lamar Box 1117 Taholah Wash Dunagin i i I James Reston Voters Must Know Who Wants What Gas Is Best When the Supreme Court abolished capital punishment perhaps with the exception of those who murder policemen kidnap and murder small children and highjackers it was stated in the paper heavy burden has been lifted from the spirit of the However another burden has been added: Murderers have been guaranteed their lives The ever-increasing rise in vicious murder is far out of proportion to the increase in population There has been no execution in the US in the last six years Capital punishment not a deterrent? Ask yourself that question As long as there is an enforced stiff penalty murderers will think twice From World War II we learned of the suicide squad There will always be some of that type But how many more law-abiding citizens are to be deprived of their lives and ambitions by those who are out for revenge thrills or who have sworn allegiance to certain organizations? Why should anyone be so appalled by the action? Some of these people speak from experience It has been suggested that money be given the families Money what compensation! Capital punishment is not cruel and inhumane The gas chamber is best for any execution anyone who has been overcome by gas will readily agree to that Ruth Shedrick 742 72nd i i i i i i I Knuckle-Whackers The July 12 editorial Questions in describes the limited Glasser Success School program as and It is unfortunate that cannot be used to describe the remainder of your editorial It is true that some parents and community persons expressed concern over the sensitivity training aspects of program as it was originally developed Teachers too are reluctant to attempt individual or group psychotherapy without sufficient training Our skills are those of instruction not correction of existing and diagnosed psychological disorders Class size is a problem in the Kansas City schools as is evidenced by the State Department of Education's recent evaluation of our district In that evaluation the State Department rated the district as deficient in pupil-teacher ratio You conclude your editorial with an implication that there is a link between Glasser's program and students and teachers learning Glasser admits that there is no correlation between his program and pupil achievement Instead Glasser states his goal is improvement in pupil and staff atti-t If any attitude needs improvement it is yours The most offensive part of the editorial is the description of teachers as knuckle-whackers busily administering true and false tests The union hopes that the Success Schools program will eventually meet the reasonable expectations to be designed for it Truman Holman President Local 691 American Federation of Teachers AFL-CIO I 1 977 New York Time New Service The opening statements from the two sides in the American presidential election campaign sound more like communiques from a battlefield than reasoned statements of future policy Accordingly the outlook is that the control of Pennsylvania Avenue over the next four years will be decided once more by the advertising techniques of Madison Avenue and this raises one or two serious questions Do the American people have to tolerate this kind of disorderly process of slick propaganda tricks? After all they have to fight the wars and pay the taxes and put up with the prices and the unemployment Are they not at least entitled to demand that the issues of the campaign be discussed by both candidates at roughly the same time if not debated openly so that the voters can make sensible comparisons and judgments? These questions are too serious to be left to the candidates If there is no public demand for a coherent discussion of the issues in the next five weeks before the nomination of President Nixon in late August it is perfectly clear what will happen namely that nothing will be clear Nixon will discuss his tax or welfare programs in Septem-Ber or October and Senator I McGovern will talk about the same subjects at some other time and nobody will quite remember what was said back yonder or put the two programs together for a serious comparison Instead of careful discussion about how to get peace in Vietnam and the soldiers and prisoners back home we will probably get what we have had so far promises from McGovern to get everybody out by next April and charges by John Connally or Melvin Laird that this is irresponsible and unpatriotic nonsense which will not end but perpetuate the killing The same goes for discussion of taxes welfare and the allocation of future appropriations to military security abroad or social programs at home As long as these things are discussed by the two sides weeks apart the candidates will be like ships passing in the night and all the mystifying clarifications of press and television later on will not dispel the general confusion among the voters about who is proposing what It has not been possible to get legislation from the Congress that would assure fair and equal time for presentation of presidential election issues over the television networks or to get disclosure by both parties of the source of the money that buys television time Nor has it been possible JfcO rule out the vicious 30-sec-ond TV political advertise ments that appeal to fear and prejudice and mislead the voters Even so there are some remedies that might minimize if they do not wipe out the effects of thes dirty propaganda tricks The people with the help of press radio and television cannot compel the candidates to discuss the major issues of the campaign coherently or force them to debate one another on these issues but they can at least request them to do so and let the voters judge why they reject a fair open and consecutive discussion of their views It is true of course that fair and equal debate between the candidates or even an agreement to discuss separately but within the same week a specific subject like Vietnam or taxes or welfare would help McGovern by giving him an equal chance to present himself and his arguments but why he have a fair and equal chance? And how else can the voters make a fair and equal choice? Even if Nixon were to agree to separate but equal and orderly discussion of the issues one issue each week or agree to debate them all personally with McGovern he would still retain the enormous advantages of the presidency He not only enjoys the majesty of his office but the benefit of all the official information at his command and the support of the yast research facilities of the a I bureaucracy which McGovern have Still there is little chance that we will have a clear and understandable discussion of the issues unless during the next few weeks the voters the press radio and television put the question clearly and bluntly before Nixon and McGovern It is not too difficult to define what the issues are: How the war should be ended how the resources of the nation should be how much for military security and how much for the civil unity and security of the American people at home what kind of tax reform what kind of health insurance prison and drug law reform what kind of Supreme Court law and order and civil liberties including the right of dissent the power of secret surveillance and the effect of postal rates on free discussion For the first time since the Johnson-Goldwater presidential campaign of 1964 the voters this year are now clearly being asked to make fundamental decisions about the direction and purpose of American life but they cannot be clear about the great issues for a decision unless the questions are presented in a fair clear and orderly manner This is the threshold question of the campaign and how it is decided or and it has to bdecided could settle everything else Bussing a Bust Harvard professor David Armor recently released a 64-page report of an extended research study of the results of school bussing for integration in a dozen cities scattered over the country Dr study reaches the conclusion that bussing has failed to produce as advertised: The quality of edu-cation was not improved there was no improvement in the performance of black pupils and social relations between black and white pupils were either unaffected or worsened Release of this report has brought denunciations of its scholarly author as a racist and a fascist and burglary of his office and files Who are these book burners who oppose freedom of the press and freedom of expression? Marcus Braun 1129 41st I.