■/' I
|y!!
Page Two
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, December 7, 1973
The revelations of the
Waterfiate affair have raised
serious questions concerning
the manner in which we finance-
political campaigns for Federal
office. A recent Gallup poll
shows that nearly three out of
four Americans are unsatisfied
with the way the Nation is being
governed.
Manly people have expressed
to me their loss of faith in our
Government. Many urge
reform of the process by which
Ben Moore's
Shell Station
900 GEORGE ST
McCreary New Tires
WASH - GREASE -
OILS - X TIRES
GUARANTEED RECAPS •
PRICED TO SELL !
We Appreciate
Your Business.
— Ben & Doris
political campaigns are con
ducted. The Senate chose the
debt ceiling bill to focus new
attention on this problem by the
adoption of an amendment to
provide public financing of
Federal election campaigns. I
voted against this amendment
which may come as a shock to
some. I did so because I do
believe we ought to force tax
payers to finance politicial
campaigns, and particularly
those candidates they oppose.
That is exactly what the
amendment would do.
It is important to note that the
senate on July 30 of this year
passed S. 372, the Federal
Election Campaign Act
Amendments. I voted for that
biil which is now in the House.
During the Senate deliberations
HAVE YOU LOST
YOUR APPETITE?
. . . You'll find it
at
The
Parkway
dotizn ^unexaC c^ome,, Una.
"Hie Home of Dignified and Friendly Service”
PHONE 837-3ISI
2201 NEU8E BLVD.
P. O. BOX 2323
NEW BERN. N. C. 28860
YOU'LL PROBABLY FIND IT AT
Askew% Inc.
HARDWARE
AND
BUILDING SUPPLIES
1101-3*5 Pollock smw
Highway 17 South
NIW BERN
whaf makes if fasfe so
MIWOMTf OMM C0CA401A COMMHV »T
New Bern Coca-Cou Bottling Works, Inc.
NEW BERN, N. C.
on that bill, the so-called public
financing amendment was
defeated by a large margin. S.
372 was hailed as an outstanding
step in the matter of regulating
political campaigns, and their
receipts and expenditures.
The amendment offered on
the Senate floor on November 27
had received only thirty
minutes consideration, I am
told, in the Senate Finance
Committee which rejected it as
a part of the debt limit bill.
Moreover, the amendment
came to the floor without any
recommendation by the Senate
Rules Committee, whose
Subcommittee on Privileges
and Elections has completed
hearings on S. 1103, S. 1954, and
S. 2417, bills which provide for
public financing of election
campaigns.
In view of this peculiar
legislative history and also
because the House has a rule
which declares that the House
upon objection will not consider
non^germane Senate amend
ments to a House-passed bill, I
believe that the Senate action in
adopting the public financing
amendment was an exercise in
futility.
Apart from the procedural
aspl^ts of the matter, I am
concerned about the nation
embarking on a major subsidy
program for politicial can
didates without knowing what
we are doing or where we are
going. Any good legislation
refonning our election cam
paign processes needs to be
well thought out and studied
thoroughly by the American
people, vi^at we seek is to
improve the processes by which
officeholders are selected.
No one can deny that cam
paigns as they are now con
ducted are a mixture of good
and bad functions. I am unc
convinced that the amendment
as offered and adopted by the
Senate represents any im
provement. Indeed, I think it
will raise more problems than
solutions because it is a curious
mixture of public and
privatefinancing. Its
ramifications are little un
derstood by either the Congress
or the public. Clearly the
principal beneficiaries are
Federd officeholders and those
who can get up substantial
amounts of money in their own.
Frankly, I do not like the idea
of some Federal agency paying
Federal campaign expenses. It
seems to me that this opens the
door for those in office to
feather their own nests. I prefer
a system which allows each
citizen to make a tax deductible
contribution up to a reasonable
amount. We should also reform
NAT DIXON
NURSERY
- GLENBURNIE -
Growers of Fine Trees,
Shrubs and Plants
any laws that need be to insure how we can make government
that the system works. truly repesentative. The answer
What is needed is a continuing It seems to me, wUl take more
study of the entire problem and than a “patchwork approach.
rta^ NCUGC Gi-vo.
new grun. h. c.
Wear this exciting Nardis jacket dress
anytime and you'll fell great. It's
custom tailored of 100% Polyester
doubleknit in either Emerald or Stone.
6 to 16