Comment
Hickel's first test
The test many conservationists feared came to Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel just two weeks after the administration, of which he is a part, took office. A test that may ultimately cause Hickel to decide between conservation and development arose off the coast of southern California and drew him on an inspection trip to that area.
Monday Hickel inspected the 200-mile-wide oil slick that threatens California beaches and sea and land animals. The slick is believed to have come from an off-shore drilling rig, but owners of the rig say it is a natural phenomenon caused only by the drilling in the area. It is doubtful, however, that the oil leak would have occurred if there had been no drilling in the area.
the development has led to a crisis for the new Secretary of the Interior.
The problem, like many the Nixon administration will face, is not one of its own making. The leases were granted less than a year ago to ten oil companies for development of the off-shore reserves. Now
If the oil drillers are allowed to work at random, the worst fears of conservationists, expressed during deliberations over Hickel's appointment, will be confirmed and a trend could begin that may bring the demise of many of America's scenic wonders. (ATJ)
For the time being, Hickel has done what he could, securing the assurances of the oil companies not to drill any more in the area until a study can be made into the problem and possibly a solution favorable to the companies and those people interested in preserving the wildlife and natural beauty of the southern California coast.
People say...
It is doubtful the government of a country dependent upon oil for much of its fuel supply will simply order the cessation of oil drilling in order to preserve other natural resources. One can only hope science can provide a solution that will allow exploitation of the oil and still preserve the waters, wildlife and beaches.
By John Marshall
MIAMI-You could see the bags under the fleshy man's eyes begin to grow lighter as he ordered another bloody mary. The face was beginning to flush, and he took off his Bausch and Lomb prescription sunglasses and looked out the big thermopane at the swimming pool of the Diplomat Golf and Raquet Club.
"Golf tournaments are murder," he muttered.
His pouch made a soft roll and flopped down so you could see neither the belt buckle nor the zipper as he sat on the stool.
The lady in the smoke shop had said it was 81 degrees. January 2, officially, thirteen days into the winter.
"I been to eight of these left-handed pro-am, and this is the worst yet. It's the wind—and it's so damned hot."
He gulped at the eight oz. glass full of ice and red, and tert a thin stain on the side of his lip.
"Eight times I been to this tournament, and paid royally for the best rooms three of them at $50 a day—the best food and drink, and even slipped in a little extra for a better tee-off time. And this year I end up with a nigger."
Can you imagine a nigra playing golf, he asked me.
Can you imagine a nigra playing goff, he asked me. "They ought to be helping themselves back in the projects or something."
"Besides, it makes me uneasy. Now, when I play in the tournament, I may have to watch the kind of jokes I tell and all. It won't be relaxed. Not in our foursome anyway."
Outside next to the pool the fat Jewish lady sat in a sagging chair and spread the wrinkles on her legs to get a more even tan.
The wives of the Four Tops, a black soul-rock group, had stepped near the pool to test the water. The flabby lady stared and squinted.
"I imagine that, Phillip. They rented fifteen rooms here. Talk about false pride—trying to display like that.." she was whispering.
Evans, Novak report
School desegregation starts GOP fight
By Rowland Evans and Robert Novak
WASHINGTON—Robert Finch, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), is moving toward mandatory school desegregation in the South, and hence a massive confrontation between him and Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S. Carolina, in the Nixon administration's first internal crisis.
Finch clothed his order of last Wednesday (Jan. 29), withdrawing federal funds from five segregated Southern school districts, with face-saving gimmicks for Thurmond. But faulty press interpretation of these gimmicks as outright surrender to the South all but obscures the fact that Finch, while speaking more softly than the Johnson administration, is ready to use the big stick of federal power to compel school desegregation.
Thus, a critical struggle inside the Nixon administration looms between Finch and other Nixon intimates who believe the President made a commitment to relax enforcement. The outcome is still uncertain but Finch was the clear winner last week in the first major battle inside the new Administration.
That this battle took place so soon after Mr. Nixon's inauguration is due
largely to Finch's Democratic predecessor as Secretary, Wilbur Cohen-a cool and wily operative in the bureaucracy. Instead of settling the five cases before he left office, Cohen bequeathed them as a political time bomb to the Republicans with action required by Jan. 29.
Moreover, all these cases were so uncomplicated that none of the "freedom of choice" plans presented by the five local school boards could be defended as real desegregation. Each contained the familiar new pattern of Southern segregation—the old Negro schools continuing as all-black and the old white schools as all-white except for a smattering of Negro students for the facade of desegregation.
What acctally heightened the political tension of Finch's decision was the location of two of these districts in the home state of Thurmond, the President's most valuable ally in carrying the South.
Throughout the campaign, Southerners assumed that Mr. Nixon would stop withholding federal school money. Nothing said privately by White House aides during the interim changed that impression.
But Finch wants to bring Negroes into the Republican party and is a strong civil rights advocate. Acting as
Finch's chief deputy without portfolio is California State Assemblyman John Veneman (likely to end up as under secretary), even stronger on civil rights. The staffer handling the school question is Leon Panetta, formerly an aide to defeated liberal Sen. Thomas Kuchel of California.
Making the best of bitter disappointment, Thurmond publicly expressed satisfaction. In private, however, Southern Republicans are appalled and fearful that Finch's order paves the way for a Democratic comeback in the South. The veteran
In general, Fich's aides urged him to cut off funds to the five districts without qualification. But strong pressure for a stall came both from Congressional Southerners and White House aides.
Feeling the heat from Thurmond, Finch called moderate Republican senators in quest of advice and was urged to stand firm. Finally, he compromised, but strongly on the side of desegregation-cutting off aid but adding this gimmick: If the school districts reach agreement with teams of HEW negotiators within 60 days, the money lost for that period will be returned. The decision was approved over the telephone by Mr. Nixon, but it was Finch's decision, not the President's.
Rep. Charles Jonas of North Carolina was furious, storming to both House Republican colleagues and over the phone lines to HEW.
The Finch team plans more emphasis on negotiation and conciliation in resolving desegregation disputes than in the LBJ era. Finch may also lower standards defining what constitutes acceptable desegregation. But the events last week showed that Finch will not tolerate token desegregation masquerading as "freedom of choice"—unless, of course., Thurmond persuades the President to overrule him. Whether Thurmond succeeds in that should be clear within the next 60 days, when those five cases are disposed of once and for all.
Newsroom—UN 4.3646
Newroom—UN 4-3646
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