~ Page 4 Costly Prisoner Daniel Delker, a prisoner in the Pennsylvania Corrections system, has cost the Pennsylvania tax- payers a good deal of money and may cost them a good deal more. His rather spectacular Luzerne County courthouse trial a few weeks ago had the regular trial costs, plus the cost of transporting, housing and controlling his witnesses. Mr. Delker called dangerous character witnesses from various penal institutions across the state in his prisoner-stabbing-prisoner trial. Prisoners had to be transported; guards had to come with them; witnesses had to be housed in local jails; they caused problems including cell destruction and Mr. Delker’s own escape to the roof of the courthouse that called for extra police and guard help; and one of his imported witnesses stabbed another inmate at SCID bringing about medical costs, plus another trial. Daniel Delker is now facing another trial in Montgomery County, for inciting a riot at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford. Again he’s called for ‘‘character witnesses’ from across the state. Four guards and two station wagons removed nine Delker witnesses from the State Correctional Institution at Dallas alone. One of ‘those nine escaped; the cost of the manhunt to recapture him alone, which took two days, must have been great. The worst thing about such a practice is that Mr. Delker may have started something. Troublesome prisoners in Pennsylvania often move from in- stitution to institution, meeting many potential “character witnesses’’ along the way. As Mr. other may do the same thing; if for no other reason than the trouble it will cause the society that put him there, or for the chance of escape it will bring. If trouble-making prisoners do this they may force budget-conscious legislators to change prisoner-trial procedures that were initiated to bring justice to prisoners who wanted and deserved it. Jacob Kassab, Pennsylvania Secretary of Trans- portation, saying that the June flood has had no effect on the Dallas highways, is like the mother of a boy who has just grown two inches and put on 12 pounds saying that his added size has had no effect on his clothes, even though his shirt buttons are straining to pop off. Last Tuesday’s Dallas Borough Council meeting revealed that Mr. Kassab had given his opinion in a letter rejecting a request for flood-money held, toward financing a traffic-light system at the inter- section of Routes 309 and 415, near Elby’s Restau- rant. The intersection is a dangerous spot and often a cause of delay for cars heading south on Route 309. The Dallas School District has pretty much pin- pointed that it has an additional 400 ‘‘flood-related’’ students. That probably méans well over a thou- sand new residents have come to the Back Mount- ain due to the flood. And they brought their cars with them, of course. Also, quite a few probably drive through the area, from Lake-Lehman and be- yond. Dallas highways saw a lot of added use right after the flood, when flood victims commuted bet- ween friends homes and their own muddied re- sidences. They will probably continue to see extra use this spring and summer. When even more Valley residents than usual will want to get away to offer more pleasant scenery than the refuse that still does, and probably still will, line many streets. Kirby Park and Valley pools and tennis courts all also show signs, in varying degrees, of the flood. Many summer recreation-seekers will, therefore, have to ‘‘seek’ outside the Valley, and many will Perhaps, on a priority-system, Dallas doesn’t de- serve to get flood monies for their needed traffic light system. Perhaps the borough should start thinking about how it can raise the money on their own. But Dallas doesn’t deserve, either, to be told that the flood has not affected it. o Capitol Notes : by William Ecenbarger Finding themselves unable to stand the heat in the kitchen, Pennsylvania legislators have fled to the bedroom. The House, in case you missed it, is locked in mortal combat over whether forni- cation and adultery should be outlawed. The attempt has to be viewed as legislative reform, since from all indications these prac- tices are more prevalent among lawmakers than the general population. It is such journeys into irrelevance and hypocrisy that have earned the Pennsylvania General Assembly what political scientists most Pennsylvanians find the activities of their Legislature-a bore. Legislators, of course, can always ignore the subjective conclusions of political scien- tists, thereby preserving their egos. But they can scarcely overlook the results of a poll conducted last February by the respected Market Opinion Research firm showing that: --91 percent of the Pennsylvania voters interviewed did not know which political party controlled each chamber. --56 percent refused to answer a question asking if the state was better off with Republicans or Democrats in control of the House and Senate. --32 percent said they had no idea what kind of a job the Legislature was doing this year. One reason for citizen indifference to the General Assembly is its traditional obsession with trivia-the fornication and adultery debate being but one manifestion of this aberration. : Psychology long has recognized the incli- nation of certain individuals to escape un- pleasant realities by immersing themselves in some unimportant task, such as constant cleaning of fingernails or endless rearranging of books on a shelf. Among the realities facing the 1973 Pennsylvania General Assembly are no-fault automobile insurance, a state budget for the TRB from Washington President Nixon treats Congresss with contempt which, it has to be admitted, is richly deserved. We have a lot of problems - the economy, the unfinished war, Watergate - but in the long run the biggest problem is whether Congress can be salvaged because, if it can’t, our peculiar 18th century form of government, with separation of powers, can’t be salvaged. ; That might be a good or bad thing. If the alternative were a collectivized democracy of some sort, say like the Canadian parlia- mentary system, it might be a good thing. On the other;hand;-if it continues the way it'is going, into. tightly controlled one-man-rule, we think it would be a very bad thing. Washington has been pushed that way for a long time, as much by Democrats as Republicans. What suddenly spotlights the thing is Mr. Nixon’s personal approach; his quarrelsome, militant ways, and his appreci- ation that Congress is half sham. It hurt to have him patronize Congress and ridicule it but, in honesty, he is right. Impoundment, one-man war, reorganization of the executive with all strings coming to the White House, downgrading the Cabinet, extension of exec- utive privilege-these are disagreeable. But a vacuum has to be filled. The authority of Congress has decayed till it is overripe and rotten. Mr. Nixon has merely proclaimed it. So we now face a test. If Congress flinches in reform then the change in our form of government (already half here) is ratified: we are in a new era. If Congress, on the other Rustlings by Russ Williams (A portion of an imaginary Harpys Lake Council meeting.) Council Chairman Tom Malletwomper: “Will the secretary please read the proposed council ordinance?” Secretary Al Loof: (ever so slowly leafing through papers, locating the ordinance after five or six minutes) ‘““An ordinance of the Harpys Lake Council drawn up by council solicitor, Atty. Jasper. ‘Whereas the council has been elected by the taxpayers of Harpeys Lake, a dully- recognized borough of the state of Pennsyl- vania, and whereas its from those taxpayers that the money comes, and whereas members of council have the best interest of all at heart, and whereas no one can understand, or follow, all of these whereas’s; council moves that it will henceforth and forevermore do as it damned well pleases.” Chairman Malletwomper: ‘Thank you, Al. Are there any questions from the floor? The floor recognizes Mrs. Purple.” Mrs. Purple: (so angry she’s turning scarlet) “Are you liars going to sit up there and lie to us, or does this ordinance mean that you are going to do as you damned well please tell me if that’s what you liars mean by this.” Mr. Budd: (speaking even slower than Al Loof had) I’d like to take a second or two to answer that question, Mrs. Purple. As you know Harpys Lake is one of the most uniquely-shaped lakes in the Eastern United States and has been since many of us can remember. It’s in an effort to retain that shape that members of council, including fast-approaching 1973-74 fiscal year, and putting its own house in order on such questions as lobbyists, campaign spending and conflicts of interest. But these are unpleasant matters; and therefore put off week after week until there what the lawmakers finally do is nothing on grounds there isn’t enough time. After four months of deliberation (more or less), the high point of the session thus far came April 5 when Gov. Milton J. Shapp signed into law legislation restoring Veterans Day to its traditional date, Nov. 11. The glitter of the moment was somewhat tarnished by the realization that it was the Legislature that had changed the date in the first place. Another law, pregnant with meaning for future Pennsylvanians, kept center-city bars open March 13 during a special election to fill a vacancy in the Senate. Presumably to escape its frantic pace of the past four months, the legislators took last week off--undaunted by a record of ac- complishment that makes the United Nations look like the world’s most productive body. As the flowers come into full bloom at the Capitol, the lawmakers return this week: to continue their merry tiptoe through the tulips, public trust and hard work. The Pennsylvania public wif Poe forgiven if it yawns. E i J PERATIONS ROOM _ 7 = a - 16 15 ne £ 1 y WIN OSS Saad AY, m likely to be a tortured experience and may, or may not, succeed. To many it all seems sudden and stunning. But the decay of the legislature has been going on for half a century. Except that Mr. Nixon is a disagreeable man, and that it is rather fun to take potshots at him, the problem here is not really par- tisan. It is true, by and large, that Mr. Nixon represents the conservative side of the big social problems and that Congress, by and large, represents the liberal side, or tends to. Republican Congress and asserted all sorts of dubious activist authority on grounds that Congress had forgotten how to function, the same issue would exist. The crisis is fun- ctional not ideological, though ideology heats it up: With Johnson President the GOP majority would also be trying to reform itself now and it would receive some assistance, we think, from Democrats. : Can the 18th century game plan of the Founding Fathers, of defusing power and of checking and balancing, succeed in the 20th century? Today, swiftness is vital in economic and diplomatic crises. Can the old system work? Mr. Nixon, in effect, says, “No” He is the real radical; he argues that he Congress won’t function. This is dubious; the only way to’ test his sincerity is to make Congress function. The Presidént has carried activism beyond anyone before him; downgrading the bureaucracy, the press conference, “the Cabinet, the Congress, and then going into se- clusion, surrounded by a bodyguard of public relations men to make his scary, solitary decisions. As this is written Washington senses the course Mr. Nixon will suddenly activate, or reverse, nobody can guess. Shortly after the Easter recess, which ends April 25, Watergate hearings start. We rather guess the Administration could get slapped down, largely because it is up against ‘an’extraordinary ‘adversary. Sam Ervin has been lying around loose in the Senate for 19 years attracting little attention. The fact is that he is the most extraordinary photogenic grits-and-magnolia character actor that US politics has produced in half a century, his favorite role being Sam Ervin. He is a cross between Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen, the ineffable actor whom you remember from Illinois with tangled locks like Sargasso seaweed, and venerable-looking special army counsel Joe Welch, who on TV, in the 1954 McCarthy-Roy Cohn hearings asked, ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?’’ Welch stalked from the room while the audience applauded, and Joe McCarthy turned questioningly to his aides to ask, “What did I do?’’ He hadn’t done anything. He was just ruined-exposed on TV by Joseph Welch. Yes, Watergate could be a great show. But the point is that whoever wins it, it won’t settle the deeper question. Trying to revive Congress without reforming it, won’t work; the drift toward executive dominance will simply start again. Congress incredibly lacks even a budget control mechanism. It has always meant to do something about control-and hasn’t. Its committee system, its seniority system, its lack of even primitive computers for book- keeping, is scandalous. America deserves better. And the possibility looms of a stale- mate-Mr. Nixon frustrating Congress with vetoes it can’t override, and Congress rejecting appointees, blocking appropriations and fouling up foreign policy in revenge. Well, something can be done about it, and we guess it is the big story frog Washington though it is terribly dull to w¥tch and tell. (Anything constructive generally is dull, we notice.) A real effort is undervgsy by a strong special Senate and House stud®tommittee to give Congress, after 200 years, a budget control mechanism. It would set an annual spending limit, with powerful committees in the House and the Senate to police it, and more important, a review process at the end of the year. If Congress overspent itself it would cut back on appropriations or, alter- natively, institute new taxes to foot the bill. Sounds simple, eh? Honestly, we can’t believe it. And yet there they are, prominent, well known, middle-of-the-road Congressmen talking seriously about the biggest legislative reform that we know of. If it comes who will have produced it? Why, Mr. Nixon, to be sure. Congress is reluctantly saving its own life because he drove them to it. should be resolved as soon as the Pothole Authority and council begin speaking to each other again.) It’s the self-same desire that keeps us coming out night after night, once or twice a month. : “Now, as most of you know, we want truthful and absolutely above:board, but to best do this council must be able to have absolute control over the judging of our own truthfulness, with no outside interferences. It’s much like the case of the ...” Mrs. Purple: (screaming) ‘Are you going to vote for an ordinance that will allow you to do as you damned well please or not?, you bum!”’ Mr. Budd: (who never blinked, proceeds cerned representatives of the people...” Voice from the crowd: (even more exasperated than Mrs. Purple’s) “I thought you were only going to speak ‘for a second or two.’”’ : Mr. Budd: (who appeared not to have noticed the interruption at all) ““...have the best interest of the public in our thoughts. If only all concerned would sit down, as we're doing, tonight, to define, as I'm doing, and then resolve, as we will begin doing, our problems...” Mr. Malletwomper: “Thank you, Mr. Budd. (Pause.) Yes..., Mrs. Purple.” Mrs. Purple (furious) “I still want to ask Mr. Budd if he plans to vote for an ordinance that will allow council to do as it damned well pleases.” Mr. Budd: (smiling in a practiced, plastic, packaged friendly way) ‘I already believe I’ve answered that question and don’t want to bore anyone by going through that again. However, I would like to say...” E.X. Chaermann: (taking the floor in a diplomatic, but rapid way) ‘“That’s all right, Mr. Budd, we understand. But isn’t it true, Mr. Malletwomper, that you plan to pass this ordinance the next time you get the chance? When the citizens aren’t aware of what you're up to and aren’t there to stop you?” Mr. Malletwomper: (turning red and being very careful not to meet anyone eye to eye, answering very slowly) “No.” Mr. Chaermann: “And isn’t it true that in case of the Harpys Lake maps you did as you pleased, and purchased, against recommen- dations by myself and other citizens, maps that fold left-to-right rather than right-to-left, losing the lake an estimated $12,000 a year in potential tourist trade revenues?” Mr. Malletwomper: ‘That’s not necessarily true. I've seen quite a few left- handed fishermen at the lake these past two years.” Mr. E.X.C.: “Ha. And don’t you plan to do as you damned well please in the future?” Mr. Malletwomper: “I will only do...as I cil.” ; Mr. E.X.C.: “Will you let us, the people you represent, know, through the news- papers, in advance, when you next plan to vote on an ordinance to do as you please?” Mr. Malletwomper: “I'm not going to start putting our whole adjenda in the news- papers.” Mr. E.X.C.: “No one asked for a full adjenda; we just want you to note the next time you plan (because we're not going to let you get away with it tonight) to do as you damn well please, so we can (§ihere to have our say.” Mr. Malletwomper: ‘Do you know any council that lists its whole adjenda in the newspapers, tell me? I just won’t do that, but I'd be happy to give you a call and...” per year. Call 675-5211 for subscriptions. president; and Doris Mallin, secretary-treasurer. Mrs. T. M. B. Hicks, editor Emeritus J. R. Freeman, managing editor . Doris R. Mallin, editor Dan Koze, adverfising manager Sylvia Cutler, advertising sales a oS CI (TIN aA RY
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers