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Albany Open Line
by Alex Rankin
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A Central New York Assemblyman
said a few nights ago on
television that the rich pension
plan he voted to give himself
and other legislators was needed *
to attract men of high calibre
into government..
Democratic Assemblyman
James J. Barry of North Syracuse
is not the first to make such
a suggestion. Voters will hear
it next year - after the election-when
the Legislature decides to
raise its salary from the present
$ 18,000 to $ 20,000 a year. They
said it in 1966 when they gave
themselves a $ 7,000 salary hike.
Personalities can be left entirely
out of the question and the
answer to Barry's comment still
smells.
The recently passed Urban Development
Corporation bill is an
example.
Forget for a moment that Gov.
Rockefeller admitted openly he
twisted arms - told Assemblymen
he would not pass out
patronage in their direction -
if they voted against it.
Beyond that is the fact that
AT LEAST five Assemblymen
were recorded officially on
record as voting for the bill
but were not in the chamber
when the vote was taken.
One was across the street in
a restaura^.
Another was on the way home.
This is the kind of thing that
breeds cynicism and contempt
for state government and the
Legislature;
Several people in the Amsterdam
area have suggested
during telephone conversations
that the situation could be taken
to court and the UDC bill ruled
illegal because voters were
counted for people who were
not there.
Morally there is no question.
It is the same thing as buying
votes for $ 2 each or registering
and voting names from cemetary
gravestones.
Legally it would not work unless
it could be proved that 11
people were absent but recorded
as voting yes.
Because the vote was 86 to 45
and it takes 76 votes to pass
a bill in the Assembly, it would
take 11 votes to reverse the
outcome. There might be a
legal case if it could be shown
that those who were not there
but who were voted anyway could
have changed the outcome.
And, of course, this says
nothing of the way the people
who live in the districts of those
who weren't there were cheated*
There is much to be said for
the argument that the state Legislature
is so structured that the
governor and the leaders of both
housed makes the decisions and
the other 205 legislators are
just there to ratify them.
Evidence for this can be found
in the fact that for years a
handful of legislators have fought
for the creation of a bi- patisan
legislative staff to compare with
the staff of the State Division
of the Budget. They have always
lost,
Most legislators admit they
know little or nothing about the
budget except what the Budget
Division tells them. It is so
obvious that it would be silly
not to admit it, and so they do.
It is also obvious that this
arrangement makes it far easier
for the governor to keep too
much from being cut from his
budget. It prevents a lot of embarrassing
questions.
Thus this year the Legislature
could find ways to cut only $ 131
million from a $ 5.5 billion budget
presented by the governor.
" Peanuts," commented Re-
, publican Sen. John H. Hughes
of Syracuse, who has for years
led a losing battle to cut deeply
into the budget.
Are peanuts worth $ 18,000 a
year and retirement at age 55
at half pay after 20 years, only
five of which have to be in
the state Legislature?
Capitol Report
By Repjomes Grover
If New York State taxpayers are
still capable of feeling pain, a
recent survey of federal aid distribution
ought to make them
wince. Because our state, the
highest taxed in the nation, was
among the losers in federal aid
distribution during 1967, one of
the 18 states which paid more in
federal taxes than they got back
in aid.
New York paid $ 1.32 in federal
taxes for every dollar in federal
grants which flowed back to us, or
$ 1,556,700,000 paid out for
$ 1,179,000,000 coming back It
was the same story in 1966, with
New Yorkers paying out $ 1.3-
billion and receiving $ 928,000,-
000 in aid.
What has been happening over
the years is an encroachment by
the federal government on the
taxing power of the states to the
point where a rich state like
New York is having difficulty in
raising additional revenues for
its internal operations. Added to
the flood of taxes in the federal
treasury is a growing ineffic iency
in the use of this revenue. New
York State raises 20 per cent of
all federal revenues and gets
back considerably less in aid.
If the load of taxes continues
to grow, it will gradually cripple
the industrial and business might
of the nation. When taxes take too
great a portion of revenue, ef-ficienty
deteriorates. Why worry
about running a tight ship if the
government is confiscating your
profits? We may already have
passed the danger point.
So liberal an economist as
Walter Heller, who served the
Kennedy and Johnson administrations,
has recognized the danger.
In his Heller Plan, he calls
for the federal government to
return some of its taxingprerog-atives
to the states or simply to
return a fixed percentage of taxes
raised in a state.
One of the few bright prospects
on the tax horizon lies in more
and more local control. My home
village of Babylon cut taxes last
month for the seventh straight
year. The move was made in the
face of growing costs-- by a Village
Board which worries about
the tax rate because its members
pay the taxes they levy.
Some of the spend- crazy lads in
this administration could benefit
by Babylon's example.
Arrest Trio For A& P Holdup
Fred Johnson, manager of the
A & P at 190 Merritt Road, was
held up last Saturday by three
gunmen and relieved of $ 1,600.
Fifteen minutes later police
arrested Donald Ferrin, 24, and
Redmond Morris, 36, both of
Revere, Mass. and Harold Jackson,
36, of Lindenhurst, and
charged them with robbery in the
first degree. The trio were arrested
at Farmedge Road, Beth-page.
This was the second robbery
of the store in recent months.
WINNERS AGAIN: The Witch Doktors of the North Massapequa Fire Department
took first and second places at the Fifth Annual First Aid Contest sponsored
by the Flushing Community Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
The Witch Doktors in their championship form displayed a one- two punch
by entering two teams in the contest. The teams are coached by Vincent Ran-ieri
and the " A" team is captained by Mike McGroarty while the " B" team
is captained by Bob Petersen. 27 teams competed in the contest. PokressPhoto
Kurt Knoblauch Receives Medal
Kurt Knoblauch, a sixth grade
student at the Raymond J. Lock-hart
School, was presented with
the Automobile Club of New
York's Distinguished Service
Medal. Deputy County Executive
Daniel T. Sweeney, awarded the
medal to Kurt, who is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Knoblauch
of 139 Clark Avenue, Massapequa
Park, for his outstanding work in
Safety Patrol at the Lockhart
School.
THE WASHINGTON
WATCH By Congressman
John W. Wydler
Charles W. Ferris
Christian Science Lecturer
" Who's in Control?" is the
title of a Christian Science
lecture to be given on Tuesday
May 21 at 8: 30 p. m. by Charles
W. Ferris, C. S. B., of Minneapolis
at the Church Building,
4550 Merrick Road, Massapequa.
Mr. Ferris entered
the healing ministry of Christian
Science after graduation from the
University of Chicago and a
period of service in the United
States Army. He was a Chaplain's
assistant during his Army
career and also served as a
Field Worker for Christian
Science Activities for the Armed
Services. In 1961 he became a
teacher of Christian Science.
Mr. Ferris is currently on tour
throughout the United States and
Canada as a member of the Board
of Lectureship of The First
Church of Christ, Scientist, in
Boston, Massachusetts.
Love of country is the greatest
force for unity amongst A-mericans.
There are some who
epitomize that spirit and add to
that force.
Such a man is Irving Berlin.
More than any other American
he could be the '^ Composer
Laureate" of America. His songs
have been sung, whistled and
hummed by generations of A-mericans.
Starting with
" Alexander's Rag Time Band"
his tunes captured the song in
the heart of America. There
were numerous " hit" love songs
and holiday songs, too, such as
" Easter Parade" and " White
Christmas".
But it was in times of National
trials that he gave the most
to his country. " Oh! How I
Hate to Get Up in the Morning"
expressed the sentiments of our
soldiers in many wars.
Most important of all was our
informal National Anthem, " God
Bless America". It was sung
for the first time on November
11, 1938, when Kate Smith introduced
it on her radio program.
The extent of its meaning a-round
the world was demonstrated
when General Douglas
Mac Arthur marched into
Manila after its recapture during
the World , War n. He was
greeted by thousands of Filipino
children singing the song. The
composer's devotion to the United
States was expressed not only in
the words and music but in a
singularly generous gesture: he
donated all the royalties, almost
$ 400,000, to the Boy Scouts and
Girl Scouts of America. Appropriately,
Berlin himself sang
" God Bless America" on the
Ed Sullivan tribute last week
backed by a hundred Boy Scouts
and Girl Scouts.
His crowning achievement was
his second all- soldier revue,
" This Is The Army" which netted
approximately $ 10,000,000 for
the Army Emergency Relief
Fund. Composed produced and
staged by Berlin, " This Is The
Army" opened in Manhattan
at the Broadway Theater on July
4, 1942, played most of the major
cities in the United States, and
then toured American military
bases in Europe, Africa, Australia
and the South Pacific. Berlin
himself performed and stayed
with the show for three and a
half years.
A great American, indeed. A
rare man and a rare American.
America can be proud of this
man and truly say, " God Bless
Irving Berlin".
JOHN BURNS PARK
FRIDAY NIGHT
SATURDAY MATINEE AND EVENING
SUNDAY NIGHT
TICKETS $ 2.50
Farmingdale OBSERVER - Thursday, May 16, 1968 Page 5
