Johnson running on past record By STEVE AUERWECK Collegian Staff Writer - Albert Johnson is running cool, and no wonder. He has money, he's Republican, and he has 11 years experience in the U.S. Congress behind him. "I know there's a tendency to pooh pooh one's record and seniority in Congress," the 23rd District candidate says, "but after all, I am getting very high uo on the rolls of the Congress. "I think one of the very big issues is do not substitute for a well-seasoned, well-trained person one who would have to start at the bottom of the kidder." The man Johngon refers to, the one who would have to start at the bottom of the ladder, is, Yates Mast, who hopes to return the district's seat to the Democrats in the Nov. 5 election. The _ district is 61 per cent Republican. Johnson, a 68-year-old attorney from Smethport, was interviewed following a breakfast speech to the State_College • Chamber of Commerce last Friday. Sporting a "Drew Lewis for Gover nor" button and an American Flag lapel pin, Johnson answered a wide range of questions, including his campaign, the economy and education. Throughout the talk Johnson stressed the importance of his seniority in securing benefits for the district, and While Mast has said he thinks seniority is "absolutely unimportant," Johnson doesn't think so. Johnson is second-ranking minority member of the House Banking and Currency Committee and he hurries to point out that the committee "doesn't just supervise banks." "When Hurricane Agnes hit we passed the Flood Disaster Bill of 1972," Johnson said. "My committee handled it and I worked night and day (fork a $5,000 subsidy for everybody that was damaged and loans at a low rate of in terest. That's just one instance." Home building and the entire housing Editor's note: this is the second of three sets of interviews with candidates running in next month's general elections. Tomorrow: interviews with state Sen. Joseph Ammerman -- and his rival, Republican J. Alvin Hawbaker. 23rd Congressional District industry also come under the banking committee, Johnson said, calling it "one of the most important in Congress." The committee is at least important to him. Johnson's .contributions from July to August included $4,900 from two banking organizations and four business executives. Mast has focused on this, charging indebtedness to vested interests. At the breakfast meeting John-;agreed that such contributions can 1% • ad, but he said they are necessary to - _,Tunning a political campaign. Johnson also is third-ranking minority member on the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, which he said "has been stripped of most of its power by reason of turning the Post Office over to a corporation." The committee also controls federal employes, and there are few in the district. "I grant‘you there isn't an awful lot I can do for this district by being part of that committee," Johnson said. "I was just put on there for balance." A bill which was rejected by the House on Oct. 8 would have split up the banking committee and completely abolished the Post Office committee. Johnson voted against Me measure. On inflation, Johnson proposes a three pronged attack lower federal spend ing, to r reform and stimulating business to provide more jobs. Johnson said he supports a new joint Congressional committee to hold the budget within a set limit, and he explains his two-member, one-office staff in the district as a measure to hold down government spending. His record shows that he has con sistently voted to restrict spending on social programs while backing the defense budget, and he holds to that philosophy. When asked whether he would go along with defense cuts, he exclaimed, "No, no I would not! The defense budget vestment credit for business be raised. has only gone up an average of 7 or 8 "If business is happy, if business is billion dollars a year over the past seven prosperous, if there's , incentive for or eight years, whereas the money for business to develop and build and put in non-defense items, social-type items, new machinery," Johnson - bubbled, his has gone up $92 billion a year. face lighting up, "it's going - to create "Oh, 'we just can't sleep, can't lull new jobs, don't you see. And I'm for it." ourselves into a feeling of false Johnson then moved on to his concern security," Johnson said. for students and his votes in that area. Johnson endorsed a &Oa-page tax Congress has just passed a bill to reform (bill which is due on the House establish several major diabetic floor after this Congressional recess, research centers, Johnson said, and heis saying it will eliminate many of the tax working to have the Hershey Medical loopholes Mast has attacked. ~ Center selected as one of them. Johnson said the bill will raise taxes on On veterans' education, Johnson oil companies by $3 billion by phasing pointed to his support of a recently out the oil depletion allowance over the passed bill raising benefits by 23 per cent next- five years. and extending the benefit period from 36 He also backed the idea that the in- to 45 months. The challenger's campaign By STEVE AUERWECK . Collegian Staff Writer '- One thing is very clear: Yates Mast does not want Albert Johnson back in Congress. Notiat all. think I am the candidate of the little guy versus the can didate of big business, pure and simple," Mast says. Talk with this large, almost rotund, rumpled man some.more and you'll hear a lot more about the little guy. And why not? As the Democratic challenger for the 23rd Congressional District seat, Mast is indeed "the little guy." The diiirict is heavily Republican, and Republican incumbent Albert Johnson has been easily re-elected in each election since his first victory in 1963. But, no matter what other problems the voters may have in this election, they can't say there's no difference between the Congressional candidates. A 90-minute interview with Mast ranged from tax - loopholes and Congressional reform to marijuana and abortion, and Mast landed at the opposite end of the spectrum from Johnson on almost every issue. On inflation, Mast favors extensive tax revision which would eliminate many exemptions for the wealthy and lighten the tax load for the working man. While Johnson stresses "fiscal responsibility" to cut down the national debt, Mast said that "is not nearly as important as Albert would make it out to be." He did, however, offer a number of. suggestions for cutting back the federal budget. While he stressed that 'the figures were guesswork, Mast said he believes $lO-20 billion can be pared from the defense budget and $25 billion in waste can be eliminated, while the tax reforms would provide $25 billion moreto spend. He said the money gained should be diverted to human need programs to spur the economy. Mast also dismissed a pending tax refolrm bill and a new Congressional budget control committee, two of Johnson's main remedies, as "band-aid" measures. • " "I believe in the Keynesian theory," he said. "You've got to keep a flow of money in the hands. of the working people in this country, because they will spend and that will keep the economy going." Putting inflation second to the risk of a serious depression, Mast also suggested making more loans available to small businessmen and encouraging farmers to increase production. But therformer tax lawyer for the U.S. Treasury Department rejected President Ford's suggestion that the capital gains tax should be lowered and the investment credit decreased to stimulate more jobs. "Though most of the loopholes have some rattle! basis behind them, the truth is that 70 per cent of \ them really end up in the pockets of the very wealthy and do not. stimulate capital expansion," Mast said. With an eye toward providing more jobs, Mast flatly opposed the oil depletion allowance, on the grounds that much of the money gained is being invested in foreign countries, and favored higher tariffs to prevent the outflow of jobs. • He also offered one more highly unique plan. "I've been -thinking very seriously that we should join the Common Market," Mast said. "I think pressure must be brought on the Arab countries to stop this tremendous flow of billions of dollars out of the country." He said he is certain the United States would be allowed into that European alliance. To cut back on oil use Mast went along with Ford's request that pollution restrictions be lessened to allow burning more "Pollution and ecology is a matter of balance," he 'said. "You can't go overboard and destroy the economy." Johnson's campaign has been hinged on the importance of 11 years' senority in Congress; but Mast lashed out at this as "ab solutely not important," particularly with respect to Johnson's two committees. "Banking and Post Office have very little to do with the needs of the people of this district," Mast said with outrage in his voice. "I am convinced that he has been representing Wall Street, and this isn't Wall Street, that's all there is to it." Mast also criticized Johnson as being ineffective on those committees, saying Johnson never writes bills or does any thing to set them up. He favored complete abolition of the Congressional seniority system. The interview touched on another main point of contention in the campaign, that of district offices. Last year Johnson spent $115,000 of the $194,000 available for staff salaries and has only one office instead of the three the government will fund. Mast has attached this as an example of the hal of contact Johnson has with the 10,000-square inile district, and has promised to open four or five district offices. Johnson respond ed by saying that he wants to save the people money and that paying extra offices would mearegoing to vested interests. Mast disagrees. "I don't mind paying a little rent," he said. "If the government pays for three I could certainly pay for two "I think lam the candi date of the little guy ver sus the - candidate of big business, pure and simple," says Democrat Yates Maekit. Photos by Ed Womb The Daily Collegian Thursday, October 24,1974- more in cheap storefronts." He added that he plans to hire a large staff at lower-than average salaries, opening his office to 'beginners who are eager for the chance to beadministrative assistants. "The people of my district are certainly going to get their $194,000 worth," he said. At a Chamber of Commerce breakfast Friday, Mast had criticized Johnson for being given a 10 per cent rating by the National Council of Senior Citizens on a number of key votes. He elaborated on several, including: - ' the Consumer Protection Agency. While Johnson opposed the controls the proposed agency would have over other government bodies, Mast said he believes in class action suits brought for the people on a government level. aid to mass transit. Calling Johnson negligent, Mast said mass transit is needed in. Centre County as much as in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He cited the problems of older people who can't drive or are sick and said it would help the fuel crisis. raising the minimum wage. Mast even favored govern ment subsidies to small businessmen if necessary, saying, "It's about time the little guy gets a bit of this roundabout welfare as well as the big corporations." a legal services corporation. "Absolutely, it's a must," Mast said. "We have no justice if money is the criteria of being represented in court." Mast has served as Penn State's student legal adviser. As he leaned back with his feet on the desk and an Open collar, Mast also discussed three isues which are important to students. On marijuana, Msat said he would go along with the Shafer Commission recommendation that simple use and possessiop be decriminalized. "People's lives shouldn't be ruined for small amounts," he said. But, he noted, "I think anybody's foolish who has to take chemicals to get themselves hyped up when they could us, their brain." Mast said he is opposed to abortions on religious and moral grounds, but he also opposed government restrictions. !.‘l'll never get pregnant , no matter what I do," he noted in explaining why he believes he has no right to interfere. L Mast also favored raising veterans' education benefits to the equivalent of the level which he received following World War 11. This means full payment of tuition and school expenses, plus an additional living allowance.
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