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v'S UNMENTIONED LOOPHOLE A tempest is swirling through ;iCapitol corridors over what one Wash ington newsman dubbed the “only un- •nnentioned tax loophole”—the tax-ex- : -empt status enjoyed by Big Labor, i: Reported ready to step into the ;?eye of that tempest is a bipartisan ‘igroup of Senate Finance Committee ^members including Paul Fannin (R- •iAriz.), Carl Curtis (R-Neb.), Harry f*Byrd (D-Va.), and Senate “Watch- r !dog” John Williams (R-Del). The Finance Committee is con- rducting hearings on the House-passed : : tax reform bill. In the interest of tax .'justice the bill taxes investments made :?by churches and foundations and oth- . : er tax-exempt organizations, hits the : :tax privileges enjoyed by the oil inter- : : ests and imposes heavy penalties on :any spending by private voluntary •foundations for political purposes. \et ';the highly favored tax status of un- : : ions is preserved. *• As one might expect, nobody has : ;yelled louder or longer than the AFL- CIO bosses about tax “loopholes”. The - : AFL-CIO Executive Council even went -^so far as to urge the Senate to “guard bagainst attempts by lobbyists to pre serve and widen their special loop holes.” Some critics, including the Nation al Right to Work Committee, are now masking: “What about Big Labor’s own •tax loophole?" Labor unions are pri- ; vate, tax-exempt, have vast millions : of dollars invested in unrelated busi nesses. One leading analyst estimates that half of organized labor’s $3 bil- lion annual income comes from invest ments in unrelated (and untaxed) busi- ■ ness— and spends tens of millions of compulsory dues dollars annually for political purposes, in open violation of the Federal Corrupt Practices Act. Why are they accorded special treatment in Congress? The reason could be the use of compulsory dues for political purposes. An estimated $60 million was poured out last year in a vain effort to defeat a presiden tial candidate the union bosses called a “disaster”. The figure exceeds $200 million when you take into account state, local and municipal elections and the vast millions in indirect costs for such things as union staff time, “edu cational” pamphlets, telephone banks and computerized get - out - the - vote drives. Joseph Rauh told the Supreme Court when he was general counsel for the United Auto Workers: “When a union member pays his dues, he has paid for his political action.” Many members of Congress are in debted to labor bosses for the cam paign support provided by union or ganizations financed through the in voluntary contributions of wage earn ers who may be opposed to the candi dates chosen by the union heirarchy. The National Right to Work Com mittee states its hope “that the Sen ate hearings will lead to the removal of the tax-exempt status of any pri vate organization using compulsory dues dollars for political purposes. Such an action will rectify a basic in justice involving both labor law and tax law. It will contribute greatly to a fairer distribution of the tax load and will most certainly gain the ap plause of all fair-minded citizens by demonstrating that Congress is wil ling to deal equitably with even the most politically-powerful special in terest lobby.” We agree. And we hope that Con gress musters the courage to do the job. PROTECTING ACADEMIC FREEDOM The U.S. Senate is currently giv ing consideration to a bill entitled The Academic Freedom Protection Act, or S.1988. The act, m the words of one of its sponsors, Sen. Strom Thur mond (R-SC) : "... prohibits anyone from interfering with the orderly ad ministration or operation of a federal- p ly assisted institution by— m 1. Committing an act of violence, or threatening violence; 2. Obstructing access to, egress from, or use of the premises; 3. Entering or remaining in any structure for the purpose of in terference; and 4. Committing any act in violation of law, or any duly adopted reg ulation of the university. “Such persons may be imprisoned for 3 years or fined $5,000. In ad- .* dition, anyone who conspires against such prohibitions may suffer the same > sanctions.” >. We note the use of the restrictions at “a federally assisted institution.” •: This means the institutions that we v are supporting with our tax dollars. .Private schools using private funds, ? : $nd those state schools which receive no tax funds irom the federal govern ment, would not be affected by the bill. We deplore the need for this kind of legislation, but we recognize the fact that the need exists. Our educa tional administrators have in many cases catered to the whims of the rad icals at the expense of the students who truly want to better themselves. It is questionable whether the bill would deter the hard-core revolution ary, but it might act to discourage the .4heep who join in the fun, out of bore dom, and there are those who claim that the followers are far and away the majority in most disruptions. There will be many cries of “foul” raised in opposition to the passage of 8.1988 and we can guess who the screamers will be. We see no danger in the bill unless one plans to com mit an act of violence, obstruct free passage to and from facilities, sit in and interfere with the rights of other students or faculty members, or vio late laws and break university regula tions. If we planned any such acts, we might oppose the passage of the bill, too. "Chairman Mao's five-year plan is to outlive Chiang Kai-shek.* We Dumped Over The U. S. Last Year 48 Billion Cans And 26 Billion Bottles... King Feature* Syndicate Airlines Suffer Severe Nose Dive In Earnings BY BABSON’S REPORTS, INC. HELP FROM FARE BOOSTS WELLESLEY HILLS, MASS.- Plagued by the weighty restraint of inflating costs, the nation’s airlines continue to suffer from a severe profits squeeze. Thus far in 1969, reported earnings of nearly every airline have nose dived. The outlook for the re mainder of the year does not in dicate any significant rebound. There were some extraor dinary reasons for this poor per formance, including the 21-day strike against American Air lines. Nevertheless, the main causes of this lackluster earnings picture have been rising ex penses, inadequate fares, and de clining load factors. Revenues have continued to trend upward, but costs have risen faster. Asa result, profit margins have been subjected to an intense squeeze. In short, the airlines are in a period of profitless prosperity. Earlier this year a fare in crease of 3.8C was authorized. Despite this advance, several airlines reported lower 1969 se cond -quarter earnings than in the corresponding period last year. Three major carriers were forced to omit quarterly divi dends on their common stock. Primarily, this was due to in creased expenses, but, also, traf fic did not grow to the degree anticipated. Furthermore, this profit decline is being accentu ated by the huge capital outlays for new jumbo jets and support ing ground equipment. In the future, these new jets are expected to provide major cost reductions and allow pro ductivity gains. However, some airlines are having difficulty ar ranging financing for this equip ment. Western Air Lines, a fi nancially hard-pressed carrier, SENATOR STROM THURMOND REPORTS TO THE PEOPLE RESPECT OUR POLICE The time has come for the ordinary citizen to stand up for law and order Our law enforce ment forces deserve our full support and respect. A campaign of character as sassination is being waged against the police, in an effort to undercut their efforts to keep the peace. This campaign is par ticularly aimed at our young people. If a whole generation should grow up without a healthy attitude toward the lo cal representatives of the law, then the future stability of the Nation will he in doubt. POLICE BRl TALITY Too often when a policeman attempts to do his duty, he is met with the cry of ‘‘police bru tality.” This phrase originated as a Communist and radical slogan intended to turn the tables on the policeman. Instead of focusing attention on the criminal, it focuses on the man who is trying to stop the crim inal. We must remember that, whenever the law is violated through physical activity, there must be force applied either by the criminal or hy the police man. The criminal who is intent upon a violent act must be met with an equal force. Even the law breaker who seeks to avoid violent acts is nevertheless com mitting a violent action in spirit against our legal system. A policeman must be allowed to use whatever force is neces sary in a given situation to ap prehend the criminal or to pre vent his escape. It is hypocriti cal to accuse the police officer on the beat of using “excessive force” when he is engaged in deadly action where split-sec ond decisions are required. POLICEMEN KILLEb It is easy to second-guess a brave officer weeks later or months later when impartial witnesses may have fled, and it is impossible to recreate the ten sion of the situation. In 1968, there were 64 police men in the United States who did not have the opportunity to second-guess their own actions; they were killed by criminals in the midst of their duty. Be tween 1960 and 1968, a total of 171 police officers were killed in the line of duty. Even more important is the fact that, in 1968, there were 15.8 assaults for every 100 offi cers on duty. That means that every policeman who goes out on his beat knows that he has a 16 percent chance of being wounded that day. Every police man who has to make an instant decision about the use of deadly force has such a probability hanging over his head. He must try to figure out whether this time is the time his number is up, or not. SUPPORT FOR POLICE There are some who say that a policeman should take special training courses in the social sciences, so that he will learn the alleged “causes” of crime, and the so-called “problems of the community.” Such theoreti cal concerns must not burden the working police officer. He does not have time to be a soci ologist, and to debate the causes of crime while the criminals are escaping. One way of demonstrating support for the police ia to de mand that Congress pass the Administration’s crime bills that have had no action in Congress. U. S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell, in a recent speech, pointed out that the Adminis tration has presented more than 20 crime bills. However, since the Congress is controlled by the Democratic Party, nothing has happened. “When the public elected this administration, it wanted action against crime,” the Attorney General said. “We have done a great deal by exec utive action. But the monetary purse and the legislative sword are controlled by Congress.” The public must demand that these anti-crime proposals re ceive attention. 2-B—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., Oct. 16, 1969 Grocery Bills Include More Than Just Food canceled a $150-million aircraft order. To stop further deteriora tion of the airlines’ finances, the industry requested and received a second fare increase this year. Although this increase amounted to 6.35^, it is still not suffi cient to allow an adequate rate of return. INTENSE COMPETITION RULES Why the airline industry’s floundering fortunes 0 The fierce competition that exists between the carriers is a major cause. In an attempt to gain a greater share of the market, the airlines add more, costlier, and bigger planes to their fleets. They also provide more services, try to lure more travelers with eco nomy plans. But the fact is that there are too many carriers serving the same routes. The CAB, which is responsible for route awards, seems to grant new operating territories to satisfy every line’s demands as much as possible. This type of policy inevitably leads to smaller and smaller pieces of the pie until each of the carriers is left with only a few crumbs. Under these conditions, there is an awkward period when profits from lucrative routes dwindle to marginal proportions because traffic simply cannot grow fast enough. EMPHASIS ON BOOSTING PROFITS Airlines are pursuing another tactic which could enhance their profitability. The holding com pany concept recently employed by the nation’s railroads to fa cilitate diversification is being adopted by some airlines. United Air Lines has already estab lished such a corporate vehicle to facilitate non-air line ventures. This provides an easy way to separate airlines activities from related ventures such as hotels, car rentals, and restaurants -- which are peripheral to passen ger and freight transportation. By isolating their transportatiwi bu siness, airlines hope to achieve a more equitable fare structure. LOOKING AHEAD Despite the gloomy near-term outlook, prospects for the 1970s seem brighter. Capacity addi tions are expected to be less than traffic increases, allowing load factors to bounce back. Due to the industry’s leverage factor, traffic gains above the break even level permit larger amounts of revenue to flow through to operating profit. There is a good possibility that next year could see some earnings turn-arounds. Hence current problems of the airlines should diminish in in tensity during the decade ahead. The bulk of the industry’s prob lems seem already to have been discounted by the stock market BY MARY W. MONHOE County Office Manager, ASCS Our modern American way of life is evidenced by the ever growing business of super mar kets. These grocery stores are steadily becoming “variety” stores because they carry every thing from ladies hose, aspirin, garbage cans, lawn mowers, shampoo, encyclopedias, to fat back and chitterlings. Its true that this American way saves the housewife many steps. It is also equally true that the housewife purchases non-gro cery items and then complains about the high cost of food. Each week, on Thursdays, to be exact, my mother purchases the weekly groceries. Each week on Thursdays at approximately 12:15 o’clock, I’m greeted with this statement (and ultimatum). “Someone else will just have to buy groceries. Everything goes up each week. What makes the cost of groceries go up and up?” This week, as a result of read ing a USDA publication entitled “The Farmer and Consumer”, I carefully examined her “gro ceries”. First, I removed all items that were not food; soaps, mops, de tergents, toothpaste, deodorants, insecticides, waxes, cooking u- tensils, aspirin, magnesia tab lets, notebook paper. Of the items left, we found that substantially less than one-half of the so called “groceries” was food. < Everyone is concerned about the cost of food. But just to set the record straight, it is not the farmer who is “mopping up”. Out of every dollar spent for food, the consumer pays 40 cents for products and 60 cents for mar keting service. The farmer’s share of the dollar depends on the price he gets for his commodity and the cost of marketing the commodity. The more the marketing service, the greater the cost. For example, take a product like a loaf of bread that re quires processing and servicing from the unmilled wheat to the packaged loaf. The farmer’s share of that dollar is 14 cents. For eggs, where the packaging is obligingly done by the hen, the farmer receives 65 cents of each dollar spent at the super market. His share on other items is re ported to be; choice beef-61 cents; corn flakes-8 cents; apples-39 cents; potatoes-31 cents; canned corn-12 cents; canned peaches- 17 cents. However, the money our farm ers get from that dollar is not all profit. Gross income of the U.S. farmers RIGHT NOW' is more than 50 billion annually while realized Net income is about 15 billion. Using these fig ures, if the farmer gets 40 cents of each dollar spent, he spends 31 cents of that producing his commodities and has only nine cents left. Urban or non-farm people do not realize how much of their own income depends on the A- merican farmer. Agriculture is a 50 billion dollar customer in the American economy. The farmer is one of America’s largest buy ers of petroleum and steel. Farming is still the nation’s big gest industry. The per-capita income of farm people is lagging behind that of non-farmers by 25 percent. Yet the American farmer has become so efficient that farm productivi ty increases five percent each year. In 1968 one U.S. Farm work er supplied food and fiber needs of 43 persons, whereas in 1957- 59 the needs of 23 persons were met. The price of food has increas ed. Other items have also in creased and much more accord ingly over the past 20 years than the cost of food. Medical care, for instance, has increased more than 100 percent; housing more than 60 percent. The price of food has increased about 40 per cent more than it was 20 years ago--but remember the paycheck has increased also. Wages have increased 130 percent in the past 20 years. One hour’s pay today can buy two and one-half pounds of round steak. In 1948, one hour’s pay would buy only one and one-half pound of steak. In 1948 we spent 25 percent of our “take home pay” for food. Now it amounts to a little over 17 percent of our “take home pay.” So let’s set the picture straight. The cost of food should not be blamed on the farmer, because the price of food in the past 10 years has gone up only two-thirds as much as the other things we buy. We all have a stake in agri culture—-the food we eat, the clothes we wear—the water we drink, the forests that supply lumber for homes, habitat for wildlife, beauty for tired eyes. A healthy farm economy depends upon the understanding of the 96 percent urban population of A- merica. Development of sound agricul tural policies should be of con cern to every American. So the next time you hear some one complaining about the high cost of food- —set him straight about the prepared and ready to serve foods, the canned foods, the brown & serve rolls, the TV dinners. Tell him its not the food but the marketing service that takes most of his so-called “food” money. All of us except the veryyoung|| have never had it so good. Re-1| member the good old days when Ma canned the winter food and baked the bread and really cook ed from “scratch”. And back then Pa kept a cow and reluctantly milked before breakfast. A few chickens roamed around the yard and the kids gathered the eggs. Pa worked a garden and Ma churned the milk once a week. Such measures today would cut food costs, but men and women have found they can use their time more productively in busi ness or industry or mechanized farming. As for my part, I’ll leave the food preparation business to mass production and to the dietary genius of Jane Parker, Aunt Jemima and Tnfty Maid. And I give thanks for the skilled merchandising of modern food store managers. With their spe cialized services, in America more people eat better with less effort than anywhere else in the world. WORTH a&aaws ABOUT Aesop may have invented the fable, but married men improved on it.—Rex Gold- thorpe, Tri County (Wise.) Press. There seems to be some thing in human nature that makes us feel that profit is a poor reason for helping others. But this is a feeling we should resist. To give a man some thing because we feel it would be good for him, in effect, es tablishes a relationship of su perior to inferior. It is difficult to do good without being con descending and paternalistic on the one hand, and without perpetuating dependence on the other hand. To hire a man because he needs a job rather than the job needs him, for example, is to assure him that he is useless. Conversely, to help a man because it is in your own interest to help him, to hire him because you need his labor, is to treat him as an equal. In such a relationship, the message comes through loud and clear—the employer If you look like your pass- , h h “ “f abilit> ' port photo, you probably need „ ma . n , he earn hls - ‘ Pay and stand on his own feet. —Henry Ford II the trip.—R. Taylor Harris, The Tri-County (Arlington, Ga.) Courier. ‘Some women look good in (not prepared or printed at povemment expente) Textile and fiber manufac turers represent the only one of four broad commodity groups whose prices remain below mid- . . 1968 levels this year, according * ,a ^ s ^ u !, that ? oes not a PP , > r to the bulk of them.” James A pound of cotton has more to the New England Letter of H. Russell, The Belton (Tex.) tensile strength than a pound of Boston. Journal. steel. Chairman of the Board Ford Motor Company * * *