The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 4

Opinion Page QJI)c Wily Jnitfajjrapl) rHnirJ Cniimiattff Sit 1(46 DAVIS U. MKKWIN, tM, CI I. MILKS J. DRIVER, n. IjORING MKKWIK.

iw HAROLD USTON r- joinintto Noiin.il, Widncwtiy, Jan. 22. 19C9 Nixon May Cool Hot Middle-Class Brows A sense of being under constant attack, being forever challenged to do more, think more, act more, has reached a point of diminishing returns with the main body of troops in American society. The middle-class army, which pays most of the income tax. most of the property tax.

provides most (f the effort which maintains churches, civic groups, private charity, which occupies most of the chairs in town, city and even state government, is tired. It is mentally tired frcm a mostly honest attempt to meet necessary and just social change, only to have what were believed to be sincere efforts thrown back in its face Richard Nixon is embarked on a cru.ade to restore middle-class self respect. He has thus far addressed himself primarily to the quiet majority Inward whom his entire campaign was directed. Tht Prtiidtnt will not dazxle ui with Intellectual gymnasts at his idt, neither will ht habitually employ an accusing font In addrtsiing the majority concerning tht expectations of tht minority. Mr.

Nixon has been done in on many occasions bv the sophisticated academics, and he has been a favorite target of new politics and black power. So. when Mr. Nixon speaks of domestic as scraps from a bounteous table. David Lawrence Nixon Shows Confidence VSI11NGT0N President Nixon's ad-dress to the nation immediately after he took the oath of office Monday was impressive.

There were no innuendos of political partisanship, no criticisms of the preceding administration, no words of boastfulncss or extravagant promise. It was just the message of a man who emphasized his own confidence that the American people could unite and go "Forward Naturally no specific courses of action relating to pending problems were outlined. The speech was rather an attempt to achieve a unity of thought behind the fundamental principles which must guide the new Administration and the country. 'I ask Mr. Nixon said, "to share with me today the majesty of this moment.

In the orderly transfer of power, we celebrate the unity that keeps us free." All over the world thoughtful people, particularly in countries not so free, must have been challenged by the spirit of freedom and harmony which marked the event. Television and radio now enable inhabitants of distant countries to see how a great democracy changes its chief executive without rancor, without revolutionary outbreaks, and without the seizure of power that has led to autocracy and dictatorship. The American fople place authority in the hands of one man but only within the limits specified in a written constitution. So the inaugura' is in truth a symbol of democratic government, and the ceremony is a historical moment when the defeated join the victors in expressing hope for a successful administration. The new President's address did not, of course, ignore the realities of the age the factional differences, the bitterness between groups, and the uprisings of dissent.

He said: "We will strive to listen in new ways to the voices of quiet anguish, the voices that speak without words, the voices of the heart to the injured voices, the anxious voices, the voices that have despaired of being heard." This is an appeal to reason as against movements of protest by violence and Mr. Nixon broadened his theme to cover world affairs, too. He declared that "The peace we seek to win is not victory over any other people, but the peace that comes 'with healing in its wings'; with compassion for those who have suffered; with understanding for those who have opposed us; with the opportunity for all the peoples of this earth to choose their own destiny." Mr. Nixon's inaugural address will be appraised in history as a timely presentation of thoughts which lie deep In the hearts of the American people today. On the whole, the inaugural of 1969 was a significant example of how well the spirit and will toward unity can be emphasized even in an event that marked the defeat of one party and the victory of another.

In Washington itself, Inauguration Day was cold, but the spirit surrounding it was warm. There was an atmosphere of friendliness between the outgoing and the incoming president. peace, unity. Justice ana equuy, mere is an it is this group, too, wnicn is discncnantca implicit pledge to put a firmer hand on the with foreign aid, bitter that members of Con- gvrating pendulum of social change. gress can eye a $50,000 salary when only Right or wrong, Mr.

Nixon understands hard work and inflation has finally gotten (he sense of frustration, fear and bitterness many of them near or through that still for- which has welled up in the middle-class (and midable barrier of 510,000 a year, middle-class Negroes are often embraced in is assailed because it has painfully pro- this category) which fpcls that the designs of vidcd a giant welfare svstem that both the RoSCOC DwnWlOnd the free-wheeling thinkers and the desires of "thinkers" and the radical right say is a the deprived cannot forever be met at its cx failure. Nixon Proposes Building On LBJ's Great Society The middle-class, made up of those who edhcre to fairly well defined social goals as well as those who fit into the broad moderate income bracket, is fed up with being the goat. Certainly, the American middle-class has deserved to have a few firecrackers put un Its values art assaulted by new social compacts which hava shaken its churches, its luncheon ciubs, its moral values and its desire for privacy. The middle-class has watched its tax bills rise with trepidation, but that feeling is turn-ina to bitterness as more and more of its members see money spent on goals which WASHINGTON The most significant political fact to the hour is now so evident it can't be serious); disputed: der its comfortable chair, but it does not in tend to part ith table, cloth and candelabra, are not their goals, on programs which seem Manv did warm to Pres dent Kennedy's mreaien weir saieiy. President Richard M.

Nixon challenge to think of what they could do for Perhaps Mr. Nixon's greatest opportunity a iiberaL their country. But the middle-class does noi lies in reassuring we great miaaie-c ass inai He may not wcicome the de. lntena to maxe up a new ciass 01 aispus- i uui uie auuuiiku wum uumg sessed. new order.

Permission To Pray as a "modern Republican" in the Eisenhower tradition and he intends to use conservative principles to deal with the nation's problems, not to employ conservative words as an excuse for neglecting them. Mr. Nixon is aware that it would not be easy for him to end many of the Great Society programs even if he wanted to. TTiey are not just Johnson programs. They have been enacted by Congress and embody congressional commitments, as LBJ rightly noted in his farewell address.

Many of them were passed since the big Republican gains in the 19C6 congressional election. And the voters told Nixon that they want the substance of the Great Society retained. Almost as many voted for Hubert Humphrey as for Richard Nixon and Prayer could come back to the public The court's historic decision did not ban schools, if State Sen. John Lanigan has his prayers in schools. way.

He proposes that a moment of silence It forbade the State of New York to corn-precede each school day, during which time pose its own prayer and require all students students and teachers could, tney wisnea, 10 recite inai prayer. The real principle then established was pray silently and privately. and if he adopts a good part of them, the result will be, as one Nixon-watcher put it, "a more efficient Great Society." Boost Btntfits Finally, Mr. Nixon has committed his administration to a big open-ended increase in Social Security benefits by advocating that they be boosted regularly to match higher living costs. Richard Nixon is no Lyndon Johnson by another name.

There are significant differences. He will want to refine much of the Great Society legislation. He will want to reduce the role of the federal government in running some programs by revenue-sharing and bloc grants to the states. He wants to put more problem-solving power where the problems are in the states and cities. But the fact remains that Mr.

Nixon is not going to disrupt, decrease or dismantle the vast, help people, help-the-states programs he inherited from the Great Society any more than Dwight Eisenhower did those he inherited from the New Deal. Dee accepted the reform of the New Deal as part of the fabric of modern society and cites as his proudest presidential achievement the extension of Social Security to cover more than 12 million more people. Retain Great Society The President views himself scrlption. He resists labels and sees himself as a pragmatist, a problem solver neither liberal nor conservative who wants to do what needs to be done. Liberal in Action But Mr.

Nixon is already proving himself a liberal in action if not a liberal-ln-theory and this is what counts. The evidence: Lyndon Johnson initiated and Congress approved the largest volume of social legislation of any president in history. And Mr. Nixon prepares to carry forward every major Johnson measure. During the eight Eisenhower years 45 new welfare programs were passed.

During the five Johnson years some 435 welfare programs were passed and Nixon is not proposing to dismantle them. He is proposing to build on them and his goal is to make sure they achieve their purposes more effectively. He told his recruiting staff: Find me the best man to make these programs work. President Nixon has stated his intention to do more for Negroes and other underprivileged Americans than any previous president He has ordered wide-ranging proposals from 22 task forces the President knows his present and future strength is at the Rrnro Riccat that government cannot order us to pray, nor can it decree the contents of the prayer for those who choose to pray. The Lanigan bill seems to operate within the confines of that decision.

It would not require the students to pray, nor would it hand them a script when they chose to offer their own prayers. The suspicion exists here that voluntary prayers mean far more to those who offer them than does any canned prayer particularly when that prayer has been canned to suit the bland tastes of government. More important is the fact that neither court nor legislature can dictate the private beliefs and aspirations of the individual man. It would not be difficult to imagine quiet choruses of the prayers originating in many schoolrooms. There would be the student type no surprise tests the teacher type we extend this moment of the administrator type fiass the tax levy this and even the anitorial prayer, which would be of the no-muddy-boots-today type.

The Lanigan proposal does illustrate a point which either has been overlooked, ignored or never understood by the wolves who have howled against the godlessness of the Supreme Court. GOP Plans 70 Assault the sharp ideological differences are being steadily muted between the two parties. Many Democrats are coming to see that some programs can be better handled by state and local governments. Many Republicans are coming to see that many things will have to continue to be done by Washington and that even when initiative and responsibility can be delegated, federal financing will be Martyrs With Purpose WASHINGTON The Democrats' leadership struggles in the new Congress become more understandable when it is made clear that President Nixon intends a massive assault on their control in the 1970 elections. The President is thinking big on this matter, and the Democrats have all tnn mti needed.

of which only totalitarian-led troops seem capable. If the shouted slogan of crowds in Prague is followed want new policies, not more dead by restraint, Russia may take We shudder at the death by self-immolation of the young Czech whose emotional commitment to a freer land slipped beyond his control. His death has been mourned, as we read the news, in the best way. Students and If all this makes President rullc luAcl Vltu "enses oraer and tneir Nixon a liberal, he'll have to imae sluned UP- live with it. It's a fact.

The new Administration, heartened some care, missian leaders misjudged, we many citizens renewed demands for with- believe, the intensity of the reaction to their How Time Flies Witters Library Stiff drawal of Russian troops. Others urged sani- occupation move. that its Senate disadvantage in the 91st Congress is only 57-43, believes It can in 1970 go well beyond the pickup of eight additional seats required for outright control and gain perhaps 12 to 14. To Letter Writers ty on those who might follow the fiery path ture at the Academy of Music last night on geology, was well attended. We congratulate the Library Association upon the We here in Central Illinois can nave no effective advice for those Czechs who want what we have basic self-determination.

This nation has had its martyrs, of course. We pray that new Czech martyrs will be made only if the goals of martyrdom are possible of attainment. We want your opinions, but The seats deemed most vulnerable which make your letters brief and in- will be on the block in the next election informative. All letters are sub- elude those presently held hv Spnafore rwi of young Jan Palach. The path of resistance in Czechoslovakia is a dangerous one to tread.

The Reds sur- Srised most of us by the massive interven-on in the Warsaw Pact state. Greater disorders may bring the kind of violent reaction 25 Years Age Jan. 22, 1944 The 1944 camping program for Corn Belt Council, Boy Scouts of America, will be mapped at a meeting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Camp Heffernan, Lake Bloom- pecuniary success of the lec- ject to editing, especially those of Connecticut, Hartke of Indiana Tydines ture, inasmuch as it will en- running more than 350 words, of Maryland, Hart of Mich-gan McCarthy of able them to add new and good All letters must carrv the Dub- Minnesota. Cannnn nf NpvnHo' wim.

ington. Lloyd Eyer, council books to the Bloomington Li- lishable signature and address New Jersey, Burdick of North Dakota Youne president, announced that mem- brary. of the of Ohio, Moss of Utah, Proxmire of Wiscon Letters to the Editor Annexation Censured bers will hold a steak fry, sur of a high priced planning commissiontry to bring the heart of the city back. How it looks to let a big company come to and buy 200 acres then crowd it in to be annexed to the city which makes it a liability not an asset for the city since the city will have to furnish water and sewer connections. ERNIE FRY 510 Broadway, Normal to move out where the people shop.

There goes the heart of the city. Instead when they come to buy land to build a supermarket tell them "no you can't buy you go down here and buy this five blocks square of our' slums." That will keep the city inside its limits. Then the local man will buy pround there and move there and save the city. That way slums will be eliminated. Also you will get rid sin ana ivicuee ot Wyoming.

Nixon planners, perhaps dreaming a good bit, also are gazing covetously toward the seats now occupied by Senators Holland of Florida and Yarborough of Texas. If all that were achieved by the GOP in 1970, the Democrats would have lost 14 of the 25 Senate seats they have to put up then. Meantime, only rune Republican seats are at stake, and Nixon strategists think it not unrealistic to argue that just two, the one in Alaska just filled by Theodore Stevens under appointment following the death of Sen. L. Bartlett, Democrat, and that of Sen.

Charles Goodell, named to the post vacated by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, are truly vulnerable. Factional squabbling in Texas sinca that state tell narrowly to Vice President Humphrey in the 1968 election may dim GOP dreams there. But Nixon sources still argue that the Democrats are rent by worse strife and that GOP Rep. George Bush could be a formidable candidate against incumbent Sen.

Ralph Yarborough. Nixon is said not to accept the argument that a president should not mix in, contending rather that where so much is at stake for the national party his responsibility in candidate selection should be major The Nixon view, further, is that it is all in the way it is done. State and local leaders need not be antagonized. vey the campsite for possible changes in layout and discuss the summer camping program. 50 Years Age Jan.

22, 1919 The Student Council of Illinois Wesleyan to secure closer relationship and better understanding between the student body and the faculty was organized yesterday morning at the chapel hour. All of the four classes of the student body of the school are represented in the council with higher classes holding a proportionately greater representation than lower classes. 75 Years Age Janm 22, 1894-The rain which fell all night Friday and all day Saturday did an immense amount of good. Cisterns were filled and the ground was quite thoroughly wet. The rain came so gently and steadily that all of the water that fell soaked into the soil.

This has been a most remarkable winter, in that it has been so dry and so warm. 100 Years Age Jan. 22, 1869-Dr. Roe'f lee- Editor, The Pantagraph: Here I come, one John Q. Public, with ideas and suggestions that are as frc as a bucket of water from the Mississippi River, not costly like an investigating committee or high priced planning commission.

First to save the of the city there su uld be an nance or law or zoning rule to keep some big finance company from coming in and buying 160 acres or 200 of good land just of our city at a fancy price for its present use for agriculture or livestock, saying they want to build a supermarket As soon as they get a deed they sell it tr a local business at a fancy price to move out with fc.em. They do not need so much floor space for the supermarket and parking lot. They know they can undersell the local man and the people :,1 drift to them. The local man tees the people going out there to the supermarket and is glad Ice Ordinance Neglected DO endured from a fall, many times a permanent injury. I'm sure if I were to park my car too close to a corner or in a truck stop, it would soon be seen by a cruising police officer or meter maid and I would be given a red ticket and the fine would be enforced.

Why not be fair and enforce all ordinances? MRS. ET.T.TE BLACK 42 Clearview Editor, The Pantagraph: I understand that it is a city ordinance that merchants clean the sidewalks of ice and snow in front of their business. If so, why isn't it enforced? If it were enforced my husband wouldn't have fallen and badly sprained a knee missing two or more weeks of work. He would have been spared of pain and suffering. A bag of salt is a small amount compared with the pain 1969 by NEA, Inc.

"We don't Jtnow what he does around here, but he come in with tht new administration!".