April 22, 1965 (24 pages)

G96T ‘3 Idy***1088nq Aaun0> epeaon*** =) April 22, 1965..Nevada County Nugget.. feel fortunate to live in the country and enjoy talking about and using our nearby outdoor recreation facilities, but before we can ever really completely enjoy them, we are going to have to somehow train people to stop ruining what we have, CALIFORNIA ---Don Hoagland MORE POLICY GUIDES ARE NEEDED FOR FREEWAYS San Francisco is looking for a freeway route which will connect freeways on the east and on the south with the Golden Gate Bridge, The State Division of Highways, which is responsible for planning freeway routes, sometime ago found a freeway stub behind the Civic Center. A new route was proposed starting at that stub. It headed directly toward the Pacific Ocean, between Oak and Fell Streets. Why Oak and Fell? How can you reach the Golden Gate Bridge by going to the Pacific Ocean? The answer is easy enough. If you follow Oak and Fell you come to the Panhandle--a park, The freeway route follows the Panhandie, Finally it veers to the north momentarily, but only when it can do so within a larger park area, Golden Gate Park. Then it continues westward for some distance, again entirely in the Park, It only heads firmly north towards the Golden Gate Bridge at Park Presidio Boulevard. It follows Park Presidio until it hits the Presidio, another area of open land conveniently publicly owned, and it throttles through the Presidio until it joins up with the freeway leading to the bridge. It is amazing how these freeways have an instinct for publicly owned land. Nevertheless, the Golden Gate Park freeway proposal is interesting because the issues involved are not perfectly clear cut, An ultimate decision to go through the Park would not represent absolute evil, The freeway would bea cut-and-cover affair with much of the land area involved restored to park use, something which need not be an unmitigated disaster. The significance of the Panhandle issue lies in the fact that responsible agencies were attempting to reach a decision before they themselves had a clear definition of where the public interest lies in issues of this kind, Perhaps no clear-cut definition will ever be available, but it strikes me that we do not at the present time have an acceptable way of determining it or even of approaching a determination of it. The Division of Highways recommended the Panhandle route, but ithasno way of measuring the value of Golden Gate Park in its present state to the community, The Board of Supervisors rejected the Panhandle route for various reasons, but it has no up-to-date general plan or transportation plan reflecting its view of community values, The Federal Government offers up millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of interstate highway funds, yet fails to protect its investment by requiring that the San Francisco Freeway link be in accord with such a plan. T hus we findthree major public agencies attempting to reach an important land-use decision, without adequate policy guides. ---Alfred Heller SMALL TOWN : SMALL WORLD WASHINGTON CALLING CONTROL OF ARMS TRAFFIC POSES MANY PROBLEMS WASHINGTON, --The Treasury raiders found the inventory on the truck they had seized included 100 submachine guns, new M-14 automatic rifles, five tripod-mounted machine guns, flame throwers, several 25-pound aerial bombs, mortars and live ammunitition for all weapons, This cache in Missouri is only one of many that have come to light in various parts of the country, It was linked to something called the Counter~Insurgency Council which seems to be an offshoot of the Minute~ men. The latter is an extreme right-wing group calling for final armed resistance against the Communists in and out of government who they say are about to take over the nation, An arms underground linked to apostles of hate and more or less open advocates of violence is a fact. How extensive it is no one seems to know. So widespread has been the purchase of weapons in the South by both whites and Negroes that sober observers regard certain areas as armed camps where an uneasy truce prevails in the racial war. The hidden arsenal with all it can mean in turmoil and bloodshed underscores the struggle to enact a comparatively mild Federal arms-control bill. Sen. ThomasJ. Dodd(D., Conn.) has been trying for more than two years to persuade Congressto adopt a measure putting restraints on the mail-order gun business. Hundreds of pages of testimony have shown how these guns find their way into the hands of criminals, juvenile delinquents and psychopaths. Doad himseit testified a year ago on how the more flagrant of the mail-order houses circumvent state and local laws, He showed that three such firms ship into states having stringent firearms control laws so as to get around those laws, Pennsylvania requires the purchaser of a concealable firearm to wait 48 hours before taking possession of the weapon, But one mail-order dealer had sent 100 firearms into Pittsburgh and over 150 into Philadelphia in a three-year period, Over 1,500 guns were shipped into Chicago by one firm. The majority were foreign imports, the German "Roscoe" at $12. 95 and the British Enfield at $14. 95, These are weapons, Dodd testified, not used by hunters nor by target shooters, They are used by juveniles and hoodlums of that city, He put into record a. photograph of a Chicago judge with weapons confiscated from teen-agers piled high on his bench. The judge had said that he collected a bushel basket of weapons every 10 days, The Dodd bills would not abolish the mail-order gun business but it would make such anonymous shipments impossible, The dealer would be required to ship weapons ordered by an individualtoa reputable dealer in the area who would then be required to observe state and local laws. ‘ But.even this relatively mild proposal is opposed by the National Rifle Association, The association with its 1,125,000 members, some of them in affiliated clubs, is the principal force holding back legislation on weapons, While gun manufacturers are not under the association 's rules allowed tobe members, officers of the big weapons companies are active in the group. The NRA denies that it is a lobbyist organization, but by most standards it qualifies, The NRA is connected with the Defense Department through the Board for Promotion of Rifle Practice which makes surplus weapons available to NRA members. As an example, two years ago 150,000 M-1 caliber .30 carbines were sold for $20 plus shipping costs to certified NRA members. Last year the board sold 85,429 carbines, pistols and pre-World War II rifles for about $1,500,000. An Army spokesman says that since the program was started in 1871 there has never been a problem of these weapons finding their way into criminal or psychopathic hands, The rule is one individual one weapon for life and less than 50 percent of NRA members get surplus guns. Target-shooting has long been a favorite sport. The American rifle team took a gold medal at Tokyoand one team member won an individual medal, Theroot of the matter then is to sort out the legitimate users from the underworld of weaponry. In the view of most observers this can only be done through Federal legislation. The Federal firearms act has not been amended for 30 years and is woefully inadequate to cope with the flood of weapons, many imported from abroad and sold at bargain basement prices. After the assassination of President Kennedy Dodd's proposal got earnest attention, since it was a mailorder rifle sent to a blind postoffice box that killed the President, Interest has languished in the intervening time despite continuing pressures for reform. The Washington Post has written editorials on the need for firearms control for 58 consecutive days which must be some kind of record. With the start of new hearings Congress may be spurred into action. (Copyright 1965) ---Marquis Childs OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN MOVES AHEAD Despite difticulties, some of a nature expected in the initiation of a new program, the giant Federalstate outdoor recreation program authorized by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act last year is’ rolling ahead toward implementation. The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, which is coordinating the program, has reports that 18 states already have authorized their participation in the Fund program and the plans for 27 states are expected to be developed and submitted for consideration by June, In all, the states report that they will have a collective $308, 000, 000 ready for use---much more than the $74,000,000 which is being asked for the states in current Congressional appropriations hearings. The President has thrown up what may amount to a sizable roadblock for the program, In the Budget proposed for fiscal 1966, beginning July 1, 1965, is this statement: “The Department of the Interior plans to provide not more than 40 per cent of state costs for planning, acquisition, and development of recreational resources," The states feel that the program was established in the expectation of a 50-50 matching formula, The President, however is hopeful of bringing the Federal matching formula into line with that used for grants made under the Housing Act. Budget requests are these: for the state program, $74,136,000; for the Federal program, $49,424,000 (Forest Service $20, 279, 000, Park Service $26,031, 000 and Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife $3, 114, 000); and for administration, $1,440,000. : Meanwhile, some segments of the forest industry are continuing efforts to block Federal acquisition of land, A bill introduced in the Arkansas Legislature would request anear-impossible concurrence of favorable opinion by the Governor and several state and local officials before the Forest Service cauld even acquire inholdings in national forests, ---Conservation News

G96T ‘3 Idy***1088nq Aaun0> epeaon*** =) April 22, 1965...Nevada County Nugget... feel fortunate to live in the country and enjoy talking about and using our nearby outdoor recreation facilities, but before we can ever really completely enjoy them, we are going to have to somehow train people to stop ruining what we have, CALIFORNIA ---Don Hoagland MORE POLICY GUIDES ARE NEEDED FOR FREEWAYS San Francisco is looking for a freeway route which will connect freeways on the east and on the south with the Golden Gate Bridge, The State Division of Highways, which is responsible for planning freeway routes, sometime ago found a freeway stub behind the Civic Center. A new route was proposed starting at that stub. It headed directly toward the Pacific Ocean, between Oak and Fell Streets. Why Oak and Fell? How can you reach the Golden Gate Bridge by going to the Pacific Ocean? The answer is easy enough. If you follow Oak and Fell you come to the Panhandle--a park, The freeway route follows the Panhandie, Finally it veers to the north momentarily, but only when it can do so within a larger park area, Golden Gate Park. Then it continues westward for some distance, again entirely in the Park, It only heads firmly north towards the Golden Gate Bridge at Park Presidio Boulevard. It follows Park Presidio until it hits the Presidio, another area of open land conveniently publicly owned, and it throttles through the Presidio until it joins up with the freeway leading to the bridge. It is amazing how these freeways have an instinct for publicly owned land. Nevertheless, the Golden Gate Park freeway proposal is interesting because the issues involved are not perfectly clear cut, An ultimate decision to go through the Park would not represent absolute evil, The freeway would bea cut-and-cover affair with much of the land area involved restored to park use, something which need not be an unmitigated disaster. The significance of the Panhandle issue lies in the fact that responsible agencies were attempting to reach a decision before they themselves had a clear definition of where the public interest lies in issues of this kind, Perhaps no clear-cut definition will ever be available, but it strikes me that we do not at the present time have an acceptable way of determining it or even of approaching a determination of it. The Division of Highways recommended the Panhandle route, but ithasno way of measuring the value of Golden Gate Park in its present state to the community, The Board of Supervisors rejected the Panhandle route for various reasons, but it has no up-to-date general plan or transportation plan reflecting its view of community values, The Federal Government offers up millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of interstate highway funds, yet fails to protect its investment by requiring that the San Francisco Freeway link be in accord with such a plan. T hus we findthree major public agencies attempting to reach an important land-use decision, without adequate policy guides. ---Alfred Heller SMALL TOWN : SMALL WORLD WASHINGTON CALLING CONTROL OF ARMS TRAFFIC POSES MANY PROBLEMS WASHINGTON, --The Treasury raiders found the inventory on the truck they had seized included 100 submachine guns, new M-14 automatic rifles, five tripod-mounted machine guns, flame throwers, several 25-pound aerial bombs, mortars and live ammunitition for all weapons, This cache in Missouri is only one of many that have come to light in various parts of the country, It was linked to something called the Counter~Insurgency Council which seems to be an offshoot of the Minute~ men. The latter is an extreme right-wing group calling for final armed resistance against the Communists in and out of government who they say are about to take over the nation, An arms underground linked to apostles of hate and more or less open advocates of violence is a fact. How extensive it is no one seems to know. So widespread has been the purchase of weapons in the South by both whites and Negroes that sober observers regard certain areas as armed camps where an uneasy truce prevails in the racial war. The hidden arsenal with all it can mean in turmoil and bloodshed underscores the struggle to enact a comparatively mild Federal arms-control bill. Sen. ThomasJ. Dodd(D., Conn.) has been trying for more than two years to persuade Congressto adopt a measure putting restraints on the mail-order gun business. Hundreds of pages of testimony have shown how these guns find their way into the hands of criminals, juvenile delinquents and psychopaths. Doad himseit testified a year ago on how the more flagrant of the mail-order houses circumvent state and local laws, He showed that three such firms ship into states having stringent firearms control laws so as to get around those laws, Pennsylvania requires the purchaser of a concealable firearm to wait 48 hours before taking possession of

the weapon, But one mail-order dealer had sent 100 firearms into Pittsburgh and over 150 into Philadelphia in a three-year period, Over 1,500 guns were shipped into Chicago by one firm. The majority were foreign imports, the German "Roscoe" at $12. 95 and the British Enfield at $14. 95, These are weapons, Dodd testified, not used by hunters nor by target shooters, They are used by juveniles and hoodlums of that city, He put into record a. photograph of a Chicago judge with weapons confiscated from teen-agers piled high on his bench. The judge had said that he collected a bushel basket of weapons every 10 days, The Dodd bills would not abolish the mail-order gun business but it would make such anonymous shipments impossible, The dealer would be required to ship weapons ordered by an individualtoa reputable dealer in the area who would then be required to observe state and local laws. ‘ But.even this relatively mild proposal is opposed by the National Rifle Association, The association with its 1,125,000 members, some of them in affiliated clubs, is the principal force holding back legislation on weapons, While gun manufacturers are not under the association 's rules allowed tobe members, officers of the big weapons companies are active in the group. The NRA denies that it is a lobbyist organization, but by most standards it qualifies, The NRA is connected with the Defense Department through the Board for Promotion of Rifle Practice which makes surplus weapons available to NRA members. As an example, two years ago 150,000 M-1 caliber .30 carbines were sold for $20 plus shipping costs to certified NRA members. Last year the board sold 85,429 carbines, pistols and pre-World War II rifles for about $1,500,000. An Army spokesman says that since the program was started in 1871 there has never been a problem of these weapons finding their way into criminal or psychopathic hands, The rule is one individual one weapon for life and less than 50 percent of NRA members get surplus guns. Target-shooting has long been a favorite sport. The American rifle team took a gold medal at Tokyoand one team member won an individual medal, Theroot of the matter then is to sort out the legitimate users from the underworld of weaponry. In the view of most observers this can only be done through Federal legislation. The Federal firearms act has not been amended for 30 years and is woefully inadequate to cope with the flood of weapons, many imported from abroad and sold at bargain basement prices. After the assassination of President Kennedy Dodd's proposal got earnest attention, since it was a mailorder rifle sent to a blind postoffice box that killed the President, Interest has languished in the intervening time despite continuing pressures for reform. The Washington Post has written editorials on the need for firearms control for 58 consecutive days which must be some kind of record. With the start of new hearings Congress may be spurred into action. (Copyright 1965) ---Marquis Childs OUTDOOR RECREATION PLAN MOVES AHEAD Despite difticulties, some of a nature expected in the initiation of a new program, the giant Federalstate outdoor recreation program authorized by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act last year is’ rolling ahead toward implementation. The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, which is coordinating the program, has reports that 18 states already have authorized their participation in the Fund program and the plans for 27 states are expected to be developed and submitted for consideration by June, In all, the states report that they will have a collective $308, 000, 000 ready for use---much more than the $74,000,000 which is being asked for the states in current Congressional appropriations hearings. The President has thrown up what may amount to a sizable roadblock for the program, In the Budget proposed for fiscal 1966, beginning July 1, 1965, is this statement: “The Department of the Interior plans to provide not more than 40 per cent of state costs for planning, acquisition, and development of recreational resources," The states feel that the program was established in the expectation of a 50-50 matching formula, The President, however is hopeful of bringing the Federal matching formula into line with that used for grants made under the Housing Act. Budget requests are these: for the state program, $74,136,000; for the Federal program, $49,424,000 (Forest Service $20, 279, 000, Park Service $26,031, 000 and Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife $3, 114, 000); and for administration, $1,440,000. : Meanwhile, some segments of the forest industry are continuing efforts to block Federal acquisition of land, A bill introduced in the Arkansas Legislature would request anear-impossible concurrence of favorable opinion by the Governor and several state and local officials before the Forest Service cauld even acquire inholdings in national forests, ---Conservation News