Page 2 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1977
Opinion/Commentaiy/Letters
Still no faith in ‘unequal’ taxation
Editor:
A letter of mine was printed some
time ago (Feb. 23) and when I
skimmed through it then I disco
vered a missing phrase. Since the
absence of that phrase reduced a
sentence to nonsense I was rather
upset, but not upset enough to
make the effort to complain. How
ever over the holidays I reread what
I thought I had written and disco
vered a more subtle and an even
more devastating error. The word
unequal had been changed to equal.
This rather effectively reduced my
position to giberish. I am now quite
sufficiently incensed and will now
complain about your shoddy edit
ing, proofreading, printing or what
ever it was that ambushed my let
ter.
More importantly I wish to make
clear what I intended to say. First
these sentences, “This is the situa
tion in America today. The poor pay
half their income in taxes (mostly in
regressive state and local taxes) and
the rich pay half of theirs (mostly in
Federal income taxes).”, became
nonsense with the inept omission of
the phrase “The poor pay half their
income in taxes.” Secondly chang
ing the word equal (the word that
appeared in print) to unequal (the
word that I wrote) produces the sen
tence “I contend that some thought
on her part would have eliminated
both her confusion and her stary-
eyed faith in unequal taxation.”
Since I was complaining about an
editorial that called for more pro
gressive taxation it would have been
quite impossible for me to take the
writer of that editorial to task for faith
in equal taxation which is what your
misprint had me doing. Progressive
taxes are inherently unequal since
they insist upon taxing one class of
people more than other classes.
With these corrections made I
will restate the points I wished to
make taxation. 1) The people who
are taxed the heaviest in America
are the poor who cannot afford it
and the rich whose incentive to put
their money to productive use is
stifled. 2) It is unjust to tax one man
more than another. 3) “Reformers”
who insist upon piling layer upon
layer of reform on the existing tax
structure have created a legal mis
creant with unnecessarily complex
deformities.
There is much more to be said
Editor’s note: Any omissions or
shoddy editing in the letter was
your fault and not the fault of The
Battalion. The letter was published
exactly as it was submitted except
for one minor spelling correction.
Your original letter is available for
your inspection in the editor’s of
fice, Reed McDonald 222.
JScience ik
j. problem
ii of e*
Texas A&
Why does Japan’s
postal system work?
Lion come
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WASHIN
Slouch
by Jim Earle
“HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT IT’S THE SAME ONES
WHOSE RIDES LEAVE EARLY WHOSE RIDES LEAVE
LATE FOR COMING BACK?”
By YASUSHI HARA
TOKYO — Postal systems in
most countries are troubled by de
lays and deficits. But the Japanese
mail service claims to be the most
efficient in the world, and there is
much to substantiate that boast.
The postal network reaching out
across Japan’s islands handles some
35 million pieces of mail daily, and a
good many envelopes bear foreign
languages. In contrast to Western
nations, there are no street addres
ses in Japanese cities and towns.
Yet most of this mail is delivered
on the same day — or, at worst,
overnight. And this year, as the re
sult of a recent boost in rates, the
system expects to match its expends
itures of $2.8 billion with an equal
sum in revenues.
at present in big cities like Tokyo
and Osaka.
To facilitate rapid delivery in
large cities, where skyscrapers have
mushroomed, the government re
bates the occupants of buildings
who make arrangements to accept
bulk mail and distribute it among
themselves. The occupants of build
ings over three stories high that lack
elevators are required by law to
have ground floor mail boxes.
With all this, the Japanese system
is not without problems, especially
in the arena of relations between
the government and the most mili
tant of the two postal employes un
ions.
The Battalion
,, i. 't'L. d aa /• the use for reproduction of all news dispatches cred-
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the i . r » r .1 «
f .. r. 1 .. 1 » , ited to it. Rights ot reproduction ol all other matter
editor or ol the writer oj the article and arc not neces- . . . 1 ^ .1
snrily those of the University administration or the S “»'‘ d -Class postage paul at College
Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- ’ ' lUfFA/fRITR
supporting enterprise operated by students as a uni-
versify and community newspaper. Editorial policy is exas ress ssociation
determined hy the editor. C . J , Southwest Journal,sm Congress
LETTERS POLICY Manning Editor !. '"Les^ken
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words Associate Managing Editor Rusty Cawley
and are subject to being cut to that length or less if Assistant Managing Editor Mary Hesalroad
longer-. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit Features Editor John W. Tynes
such letters and does not guarantee to publish any News Editor Debby Krenek
letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of News Assistant Carol Meyer
the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Photography Director Kevin Venner
Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, Sports Editor Paul Amett
The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, Copy Editor Steve Reis
College Station, Texas 77843. Reporters Paul McGrath, Lynn
Represented nationally by National Educational Rossi. Lee Hoy l.eschper Jr., Jan Bailey. Darrell Luiv
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Mail subscriptions are S16.75 per semester; $33.25 Mike Willy
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subject to 5% sales tax, Advertising rates furnished on man, Joe Arredondo, Tom Dawscy, Dr Cary Halter,
request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed Dr. John W Hanna. Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jerri
McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 778+3 Ward. Director of Student Publications: Gael L.
United Press International is entitled exclusively to Cooper
Like so much else in Japan, the
postal system functions effectively
because the Japanese, who tend to
view their society in family terms,
eagerly and often voluntarily coop
erate in its operations.
Although hired and paid by the
government, nearly half of the
country’s 134,000 postal employes
are selected from among the resi
dents of the zones in which they
work. Many of those who manage
district post offices are prominent in
local cultural and welfare organiza
tions, or belong to neighborhood as
sociations.
Thus their jobs, while a form of
patronage, are considered to be a
public service, and they generally
enjoy the confidence and respect of
their neighbors, who pitch in to
make the postal system run
smoothly.
The Japanese further contribute
to the smoothness of the system by
rigorously observing post office reg
ulations designed to speed mail
through automated devices now
being installed throughout the
country.
The Japanese postal system is
meanwhile becoming increasingly
sophisticated with the addition of
machinery to read and sort mail as
well as cancel stamps. These
machines are mainly concentrated
TOWN HALL
is now accepting applications for
new members.
Sign-up sheets and applications
are available in the Student Pro
grams Office. Rm. 216 M.S.C.
Deadline for signing up is 5:00
P.M. Wednesday, March 30th.
ALL INTERESTED
UNDERGRADUATES ARE
URGED TO APPLY.
Race on for Young’s seat
oney bait
ATLANTA — In the almost 50
years since Rep. Oscar DePriest of
Chicago became the first black
elected to Congress since Recon
struction days, there has been one
unbroken rule. Once a district sent a
black Member to the House, the seat
could be considered safely black.
Strikes by public service
employes in Japan are illegal. But
unionized postal workers occasion
ally do strike, usually to complain
that the government discriminates
against union members. Some of
these strikes can be bitter, with the
government retaliating by docking
employes a part of their wages.
The strikes rarely last long, how
ever, and it is exceptional when a
labor conflict in the postal system
holds up mail for more than three
days.
Compared to the United States,
in which postage is still a bargain,
Japanese rates are expensive. At the
beginning of last year, the basic cost
of a first-class letter was more than
doubled to the equivalent of 17
cents. This rate increase should
bring the postal budget into ba
lance.
Last year, the postal system here
ran at a deficit of some $430 million,
the difference made up. by govern
ment loans. In the United States,
where first-class postage is 13 cents,
the operating deficit of the postal
service was nearly $1.2 billion.
The Japanese system, however,
has one thing in common with the
American and other postal services.
Dogs bark at mailmen — and occa
sionally bite them.
(Hara is an editor of the Asahi
Shimbun, the Japanese daily.)
Slow as the progress of blacks has
been in their struggle for a voice in
the national government — even
now, they have only 16 House
members and one senator — there
at least has been no slipping back
ward.
David S.
Broder
But that record may be broken
here on April 5 when a runoff elec
tion is held for the seat of former
Fifth District Rep. Andrew Young.
He resigned to become the Ameri
can ambassador to the United Na
tions.
The opponents in that contest —
the survivors of a 12-person don-
nybrook held last Tuesday — are
Wyche Fowler the white president
of the Atlanta city council, and John
Lewis, the black civil rights worker
endorsed by Young as his successor.
Fowler is the early favorite for the
April 5 runoff, which tests the vot
ing strength of two liberal Demo
crats with few visible differences on
the issues.
The council president led Lewis
by 8,000 votes in the first round.
Even if Lewis picked up all the
votes that went to the other black
candidates, while Fowler got only
his own votes again on April 5,
Fowler would still win.
But Fowler is expected to get the
backing of most of those who sup
ported the third-place finisher. Re
publican State Sen. Paul Coverdell,
or at least of those who bother to
return to the polls for the runoff.
To an outsider, at least, both men
possess enough leadership potential
to make themselves valuable in the
House. Despite frequent clashes
with Atlanta Mayor Maynard
Jackson, Fowler has been regarded
as a progressive force in the city
government. And Lewis, though
lacking Young’s elegance and style,
has done a solid, important job as
the director of the Voter Education
Project, which has registered
thousands of blacks across the
South.
Fowler is the better-known of the
two survivors and raised three times
as much money as did Lewis for the
first stage of the race. He boasts the
If there is any one factor that
weighs in the balance, it is the claim
that there is a special interest —
perhaps even a national interest —
in preserving whatever small footh
olds blacks have gained in the Con
gress.
That consideration should have
weighed in Young’s own mind.
THE CRAFTS AND ARTS COMMITTEE, an MSC
Committee, is looking for interested and en
thusiastic committee members. There will be
an organizational meeting Thursday, March
24, at 7:30 p.m. in the Arts and Crafts Center
in the MSC. We will discuss upcoming events
and new programs and we would like your
ideas.
STEAKS & SEAFOOD
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10% off of under $ 50 00
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We reserve the right to regulate the use^f this privilege.
212 N. MAIN 822-3119
DOWNTOWN BRYAN
>nate now
hies forcir
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it leaving
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The incor
de of com
pan
biggest volunteer campaign organi
zation in the city.
For all these reasons — and more
— Fowler is the betting favorite in
the runoff. And if he wins, it would
be the first time in modem history
that a white has succeeded a black
in the House of Representatives.
Fowler argues, with great plausi
bility, that Atlanta no longer needs
to prove its racial tolerance by send
ing a black to Congress. And since
the district is estimated to be about
60 percent white in its population
— Young having won only because
he was able to gain substantial white
support against white opponents —
Fowler is certainly as “representa
tive” of the district as is Lewis.
when he gave up his elected posit
accept an appointment from Prs terday. th
dent Carter; this reporter madetk ouse thre
observation at the time. (position!
i ho brand
But there is still force in Yoiii n ators an
argument that Atlanta voters mi jthconflic
give some thought to the fact lli
east of Memphis and south: 1
Philadelphia, there is no otla
House district that has beenre*] son; D-
resented hy a black.
When he was here before the 65! see ^
election, plugging for Lewis, Yom
said: "I happen to believe thattk
Fifth Congressional District is an
tional district. I was forced torep/t
sent 2-Vi million blacks who
been denied representation I)
reapportionment, by disenfranth
isement, by literacy tests,
long history of denials. 1 was:
the congressman from this distre
but from the southeast region,
The argument is open to rebuilt
Blacks in other districts maybei
well-represented by their whit
congressmen as whites in Atlul
were hy Young. Our system ofitf
resentation, fortunately, is ii
rigidly religious, racial or ethnic.
But, as Young pointed out, tvti
one black congressman can have a
important effect on the overall iff
resentation for his whole regia
“We were able to help gooi
candidates across the South ji
elected. Young said, "because-
could go to the black community :
their districts) and say, Thish
good man; you may not know hit
but I work alongside him
day, and on the tough issues wea
count on him. ”’
In that sense at least, the hand
of black Representatives are
clous asset to the country, notjB
to their own districts. And
why the Atlanta runoff, testing lh
no-retreat principle, is of uncom
mon importance.
(c) 1977, The Washington Post CompiD)
Till
Pro
(Jnle
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