UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN editorials
Unsigned editors represent the opinion of the Kansas editorial staff. Signed columns represent the views of
MAY 3,1979
Stop big train robbery
As gasoline prices continue to spiral upward, it is encouraging to find some government support of Amtrak, the nation's passenger train system.
AMTRAK OFFICIALS favor the Southwest Limited, which goes from Kansas City to Emporia, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City.
But the limited federal subsidies now given to Amtrak are not enough, and the Department of Transportation has recommended a cutback of almost a third of Amtrak service, including at least one route through Kansas.
Currently a small dispute centers on which of the state's two rail routes will be continued—the Southwest Limited, from Kansas City to La Junta, Colo., or the Lone Star, from Kansas City to Denver.
Although Amtrak officials say they want to retain the southwest route because it would be more efficient and economical, their arguments should be unnecessary.
The need for an energy efficient mass transit system is clear, and rail service is by far the most efficient means of intercity travel available.
AMTRAK ESTIMATES that if an additional 1 percent of intercity travelers switched to trains, it would save four billion barrels of oil each year. Currently, 86.5 percent of intercity travel is by car, 11 percent by air, 1.5 percent by bus and only 1 percent by train.
In 1976, President Carter promised full government support of a mass transit system that would reduce the country's dependence on the automobile. Here is the chance, and now is the time to act.
It is not a cutback in rail service that is needed, rather it is an expansion of service and increased federal funding. Perhaps with a more convenient rail system—one with more routes and better equipment—travelers would use Amtrak more often.
Complacent '70s hinders search for brotherhood
A guest escaped from Animal space on campus last week.
His message was delivered in the distinct, forceful spirit of the 90s and was tempered with that same yearning for tranquility and justice. His emotion bore the weight of a turbulent decade, a decade that was one of the most troublesome in U.S. history.
For most people in the United States, the decode of the '60s was a period of crisis and turmoil.
In the first half of the decade, the country endured the assassination of a president, confrontations with Russia and Cuba's Fidel Castro, and of course, the rise of the civil rights movement and subsequent conflicts between blacks and whites.
DURING THE LAST half of the decade, the country was torn and scarred by the escalation of the Vietnam war, urban riots, bombings, and the worst incident occurring at Kent State.
The late 60s was a time of rebellion by the younger generation against the "establishment." Long hair, hard rock and acid music, draft evasions and war protests, cohabitation and increased use of narcotics and marijuana marked that rebellion.
The country also experienced the assassination of two other great leaders of the decade, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the sexual revolution and the coming to power of Richard Nixon when he elected as president of the United States.
There was talk about moral decay, rat tacks. flower children and other things.
But much of that has passed. What remains are memories and the eternal goal: Patience.
IT SEEMS the '70s, in turn, have been a time for recovery from and reaction to the tumultuous '80s and the presidency of Nixon.
And our great concerns of this decade seem to deal more with the economy—recession, inflation, employment, moderate wage growth, other prices, energy and the value of the dollar.
The increase in government spending for programs including welfare, Medicare and food stamps is an outgrowth of the senate's efforts to guarantee the social welfare of all Americans.
BUT THE LATE '70s have been marked by cries for government reduction in public programs. This cry for austerity has and will cut into gains made by the civil rights movement of the '60s. And there now is clamor about reverse discrimination, a move to abolish the supreme Court, in the Bakke case, to rule against quotas set by educational institutions.
Employment programs now are under scrutiny, and the high court will soon rule on the challenge by Brian Weber that such programs cause against whites and are unconstitutional.
The one obvious attempt to help bridge the racial gap has apparently failed. Busing students with disabilities in white children together in public schools in the hope for a better education for all. But it also brought violence and protest from black students in schools of racial tension and prejudice still exists.
PERHAPS THE BIGGEST crisis and the worst folly of the '70s was Watergate. The illegal entry into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office buildings by the plumbers was, as one historian put it, "corruption and
criminal activity planned and condoned in the White House."
As a result of this clandestine activity by Nikon's Committee for the Re-election of the President by 1977, 20 persons, (including nine Nixon aides and veteran Central Intelligence Agent) were convicted of or had pleaded guilty to involvement in Watergate-related crimes.
On Aug. 9, 1974, Nikon resigned from his office as president of the United States rather than face impeachment. Confidence in the government was lost and is slowly being restored.
PART OF THAT lack of trust and feeling of betrayal is reflected in the change in attitude.
American foreign policy in the 1985 was influenced by cold war sentiment to a large degree. Our purpose in Vietnam was to fight against the invasion of Cambodia, the channum of democracy and the free world.
But the distastefulness and horror of Vietnam—the false battle reports and casualty statistics, secret bombings, scarred veterans, the unwillingness to admit failure, the dragging on of the war—embittered many Americans.
Thus, the mood of the '70s has been characterized by anti-militarism and a movement for peace and relative isolation. The early years of the '70s were the theme of American foreign policy in the '70s.
AND NEGOTIATIONS with the Soviet Union to control the proliferation of nuclear weapons have continued. The first Strategic Air Force was established seven years ago, and since that time, there have been negotiations for a second treaty. A SALT II pact is expected to be signed within two years.
On the whole, the '70s has seen a return to relative calm compared with the previous decade. But the public is not this. Protests, for the most part, are infrequent and localized. The great concern is not so much in achieving social or political but self-satisfaction and personal satisfaction.
Beginning with the Nixon administration, efforts to establish peace with Mainland China have resulted in the recent recognition of the People's Republic of Peking as the official Chinese government.
The turmul of the '80s has been met with a complacency of the '70s. This is fortunate because our consciences might have become dull and insensitive.
The efforts during the '60s by individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy and others to bring about unity in this country should not be forgotten.
If true brotherhood is our goal, we must ask ourselves what it takes to get there. Let's hope we can meet that challenge of brotherhood through cooperation. The '60s are proof that anything less will result in a disgruntled, restless society.
Letters Policy
The University Daily Kansan welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be typewritten, double-spaced and not exceed 500 words. They should include the writer's name, address and telephone number. If the writer is afraid to appear on the letter the writer should include the writer's home town or faculty or staff position.
The Kansan reserves the right to edit letters for publication.
The U.S. Senate brought a temporary halt to the run-away balanced budget bandwagon last week when they voted down an amendment to balance the federal budget in
Senate rational about deficit spending
The action was a rational and responsible move after debased marke by irrational and unreasonable action.
Those arguments had urged a required balanced budget in the vain hope that it would be more sustainable.
Two-thirds of the Senate voted last Wednesday against an amendment proposed by Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., that would have slashed $2.8 billion from the $3.3 billion budget recommended by the Senate and thus erase the $2.8 billion federal deficit.
ON THE FOLLOWING day, the Senate voted to limit spending to $332.6 billion, a spending level that would result in a $29 billion deficit and that would also gave the way for a balanced budget in 1981 and a $55 billion tax cut in 1982.
The Senate must have been listening to the warnings of a large number of economists who had forecast that a constitutionally-mandated federal balanced
Mary
Ernst
budget could throw the U.S. economy into a recession and leave it there—with no way out—because of a constitutional amendment that outlawed deficit spending.
Such has been the battle cry of such inflight-fighting crusaders as California Gov. Jerry Brown, who hoped to play on the public in a populace faced with double-digit inflation.
Sen. Henry Bellion of Oklahoma, senior Republican on the Budget Committee.
IN RESTONDING to the anxieties of those citizens, the Senate found a responsible way to help solve the spending problem. Eliminating a federal budget deficit that has been growing for more than 30 years has to be done in steps; it cannot be done overnight, and the Senate realized that.
Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-AFK, termed an irresponsible move that could induce a recession that would "bring the wrath of the American people down on Congress."
called the Proxmile plan "an unworkable quick fix."
Both accurately described the feeling in the Senate that a balanced budget will have to wait until 1981 or later. If Congress had approved a balanced budget last week, spending and revenue collections would be balanced at $75 billion in 1981. And although inflation would push spending in 1982 to about $64 billion, there would be enough revenue to finance a $55-billion tax cut.
Some of the guidelines, however, could be changed to help those who need federal aid receive it, even in the face of drastic budget cuts.
THE SENATE has realized that guidelines such as these, which do not bind the hands of the Congress or the president in dealing with a recession, are a responsible way to deal with the problem of run-away inflation.
To begin with, the Senate proposes that in fiscal 1980, defense spending would be $12.43 B.
INDEED, IF defense spending were cut,
that money could be used to help social programs that are being hurt more and more. Republicans are aware on Congress to make cuts in those areas.
Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., pounced out in the three-day discussion that most members of the House and Senate cut, but defense spending would be increased. "This contradiction is inequitable because it was the last time we had increased defense spending."
billion, a slight increase from 1979 and 1981 billion less than President Carter pronounced
The pressure has, indeed, been put on Congress to make big cuts in the federal budget in their effort to curb inflation. It is hard to ignore the fact that there are substantial consequences for those who choose to safeguard the will of the public in this area.
But it is vital that in responding to pressure, the president and the Congress act in a way that is responsible and rational and serves the interests of the American people.
The Senate did that last week. This week, the House of Representatives must make the same kind of decision. It is to be hoped they follow the Senate's lead.
Proposal threatens local woodlands
To the editor:
I used to purchase a ream of recycled Environmental Bond (the only typed paper at a time) on the same day.
The recent proposal by William Smith that the University abandon its plan to build a trash-burning, steam-generating plant to go entirely to a much cheaper wood-fired oven.
My worry is that such a power plant would be a threat to all the woodlands covering the hillsides of Douglas and surrounding counties. These hilly woodlands, with their diverse plant and animal life, provide a rich habitat for many species that uniform farmlands that lie at their base.
I was most interested to read the Kansan's recent editorial (April 26) proclaiming with glee the savings students might expect when patronizing the Kansas Union Bookstore. My experience, at least in regard to one item, has been otherwise.
To the editor:
Bookstore savings may be questionable
I have not made the calculations about the effect that the burning of x number of hundreds of thousands of tons of wood a year would have on our local woodlands. But I cannot help but think that the profit motive of land speculators and the appeal of the forestry industry would lead to wholesale clearing or strip mining of fence rows and woodlots.
It would seem a sad day indeed, that just at the time when urban Kansas (especially in the Lawrence community) have become too well established for recreation, that the University, in the name of alternative energy, would be a major participant in the destruction of our local envir
Therefore, I strongly urge that the University stick with its original and excellent concept of a trash-burning plant, which, although initially much more expensive, would improve our local area by eliminating the need for expanding landfills, and would leave our woodland to be walked through or removed as far as rather than as nails of dusty white ash.
Rex R. Powell
RFD 5, Lawrence
UNIVERSITY DAILY letters KANSAN
day I entered the store to find a sticker that
"Reduced from $7.75" Now only
$4.25"
Inasmuch as that was a patent falsehood (having purchased the same a month earlier at the lower price), I became very irritated and decided to try elsewhere. At another stationery store, I found typing paper that was more suitable and appropriate for my needs, at a price I could afford. I have since patronized that store for typing paper.
I do not know if this kind of "false savings" is proclaimed on other items in the book, but I will tell you about prices and the selection carefully at several different locations before deciding, on the word of Betty Brock, that the items at the store are economical or appropriate for classes.
On several different occasions, I have been repeatedly unable to purchase basic items. And having been led to once, I would always try to be more quickly again. It is best to check around.
David Radavich
Assistant instructor in English
Investment policies hurt black education To the editor:
All of us are grateful to the KU Endowment Association for its generous support of education. Yet, ironically, its investments in companies with factories in South Africa put KUA’s money in a country that has undergone the black majority from being educated.
In white-dominated South Africa, all schooling for the black population is tightly controlled, to ensure that the black learn only what the government wants them to. No black is supposed to receive an education that would let him or her compete successfully in the classroom spent on a black child's education for every $100 spent on the education of a white child.
Every effort also is made to keep the adult
black population ill-informed. According to a U.N. report, it is a criminal offense in South Africa for a black citizen to teach reading and writing in his home own to a wife of a white mother or a months of imprisonment. An African pastor who teaches his congregation how to read the Bible risks a jail sentence as does an African priest who lectures in a single lecture at the University of Cape Town.
Our own educations should not be financed, even in part, through a system that so limits the educational freedom of its workers. To continue with investments in such a system would be to betray everything that the Endowment Association has stood
Nadia Kaviany
Nadia Kaviany
Southfield, Mich., graduate student
Clarification given on videotaping vote
The resolution against videotaping passed with only one negative vote. There was an amendment proposed by Edward Grier, professor of English, which was defeated by Mr. Larsen's separate motion in support of freedom of expression on campus passed unanimously.
The story about the meeting of the KU chapter of the American Association of University Professors, printed April 25, was partly in error.
J. Bunker Clark
Solar home owner commends 'experts'
Solar home owner
To the editor:
As a reporter, I feel in somewhat a sensitive position. I'd like to keep my credibility
I live in the Kansas Power & Light solar house here in Lawrence. To date, I have not commented publicly on the stories our local news outlets and local broadcast stations have done regarding the home.
However..
by continuing to do no stories myself about the house, its owner, or my colleagues who report on the house and its problems and successes.
I am pleased to learn that the members of the KU Ecology Club and the Lawrence Appropriate Technology Collective were able to finally pin down every problem the solar house has in their two-hour visit to our home.
I think we can all rest easy with our energy problem now that we know we have been able to crack the mystery of cheap energy with lightning speed.
I shall suggest to Kansas Power & Light that they consider retaining these experts instead of the outside engineers, architects and engineers who have been involved for a couple of years or so.
I was somewhat dismayed to learn that our Kansean reporter was able to quickly discern the living patterns and practices of my family in such a short visit, too.
All in all, my faith has been renewed, once again, in the abilities of the many energy experts in town such as the Ecology Club and the Collective, and once again, we can see how bright and discerning our young reporters are at Mt. Oread these days.
Bill Redlin 3017 Riverview Road
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