European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes James j. Kilpatrick saturday september 10, 1977 the Cather America s cop anti Oil monopoly commercials on to for the past several weeks television viewers in the Washington area have been startled to see on their to screens some commercials unlike any commercials seen before. The commercials Are dedicated to Selling an idea. This is the idea we d better break up the Oil monopoly before it Breaks  the commercials appearing on station top have another novel aspect they have not been paid for. The station has Given the time to the sponsor Energy action committee inc. The station also has contributed its production and editing facilities to make certain the commercials meet the station s Quality standards. Now top is owned by the Post news week people a Businesslike Bunch no known for giving things away. 1 work part time for the station myself and i  explanation for this curious turn of events lies in a Little noticed order of the Federal communications commission last april. The acc found that top had Vio lated the fairness doctrine by carrying a commercial of Texaco inc., dealing i general with the company s efficiency and Economy. The Texaco spot appeared 53times Between late january and mid april of 1976.the bizarre theory applied by the acc in its 3-1 decision is to this effect Texaco s commercial even though it was couched in general terms really was intended to shape Public opinion on a divestiture Bill then pending in Congress in the judgment of the commission divestiture was a controversial Issue of Public importance Tex Aco s advertising had presented one Side Only the Case against vertical divestiture therefore top had to provide a contrasting Point of View. The reasoning is hard to fathom. At the time Texaco s fairly innocuous puffs appeared on the screen virtually no one out Side the Petroleum Industry gave a Hooray about vertical divestiture horizontal divestiture or any other kind of divestiture. Senate subcommittee hearings attracted Little attention. Texaco s commercial never touched the Issue of horizontal divestiture by which is meant that a Petroleum company must sever its interest in Coal uranium or other Energy sources. To the extent that it dealt with the Issue at All. Texaco dealt solely with the merits of vertical integration which is to say with the advantages of an Oil company s controlling its own production transportation and Supply operations so it can link the Complex parts together efficiently and  the people who run the Energy action committee handed a Bonanza Courtesy of the acc elected to make the most of it. They put together four vicious commercials depicting the Oil Industry for one example As a mugger in a dark Alley. The counter commercials attack the Industry As a monopoly with everyone at its  remarkable still in each of the four counter commercials the committee Calls for horizontal divestiture an Issue never raised in the original Texaco commercials. What is fair i am minded to ask in according free time to his freeloading com Mittee for this one sided assault a hand Ful of giant Oil companies. Are rapidly gaining control of our Coal and uranium re  these same giant Oil Compa Nies Are trying to grab control of America s Coal and uranium  Pecan t let these Oil giants grab up More and More of our Coal and our natural Gas uranium solar and geothermal Energy re  Texaco thinks the committee s free commercials have taken an unfair advantage. It has complained to the acc and to top that top now has an obligation to pre sent the Oil Industry s views on the Issue of horizontal divestiture. The station management weary of the whole business says the Issue if there is one is the eco nomic Power of the great Oil companies and the kind of divestiture is immaterial. The 30 counter commercials contributed by top represent a curious precedent in the contorted growth of the fairness Doc  broadcasters now must function As keen censors of ideas that might be concealed in an apparently innocent Commer Cial. No controversial ideas permitted Here maybe this is in the Public interest but it s hard to see How. C Washington Star William f. Buckley must we go Craw no of peking some will recall the Landing of president Nixon in peking in february of 1972. The chinese know How to Fine tune their hospitality and on this occasion 80 reporters that was the limit imposed by the chinese authorities rushed to the air port to be present for the historic Landing. We looked about for the expected crowds. There was no one a Small Honor guard a few dozen chinese officials including Chou in Lai not Mao tse Tung. To one reporter who expressed amazement at the insolently meager reception another one cracked but Don t you under stand that s All the chinese that were left after the cultural  the Days ahead things warmed up Here comes that go again Iii particularly after Mao tse Tung consented to meet briefly with Nixon and the papers the next Day featured photographs of the baptismal encounter. Or. Nixon went on in the toasts he delivered on the ensuing evenings to compare Mao tse Tung with the rising Sun the full Moon and the Aurora boreal is. Granted Mao had heard column Sand comments these comparisons made about himself before but in these matters redundancy does not matter. Indeed As Fate would have it within a very few years Richard Nixon had arrived at a political station where he found find it difficult to get an appointment with the mayor of san Diego. But Mao tse Tung sent Over his own Jet to bring Nixon Back to peking for another visit. President Carter s representative has been put through the same kind of  24 hours before the departure of Secretary Vance he was not even vouchsafed the knowledge that the chairman of the communist party Hua Kuo Feng would deign to meet with him. The suspense became unbearable. One had the impression Well into the trip that if Hua Kuo Feng had Given Secretary Vance an appointment for Early september or. Vance would have settled Down in peking to await the great occasion. When or. Vance presided Over the ritual dinner at the great Hall of the people chairman Hua did not bother to  the official chinese news Agency de scribed the meeting Between chairman Hua and Secretary Vance As serious and candid which is the mandarin equivalent of very satisfactory As a rating Given to a Soldier by the army. Why do we do it if China wants to nor Malize relations with the United states Why Don t they Stop their musical chairs Long enough to Send Over the top dog to Washington to discuss the matter or. Nixon went to China Secretary Kissinger kept an extra wardrobe Over there presi Dent Ford went now Vance Why Don t they come Over Here Why should the desire for american chinese normalization exceed the desire for chinese Ameri can normalization what do we have that weighs so heavy on our conscience we Don t Tell the taiwanese what to do it is the chinese who seek to do so. We do not have a common Border with the russians it is the chinese who do. We Are not wracked by hunger and upheaval that is chinese problem. We Don t have a proletariat that needs to work two months to make Money to buy a bicycle having first got hold of the necessary permit. We Export the Best of the superpowers not the worst. Port Unity to temp Orize on our commitment to a nonviolent future for Taiwan presi Dent Carter should consider these Points in the Light of the trouble he faces with the new Panama canal treaty. It is very difficult to criticize that new treaty and i War rant that the source of such resentment to it As there is arises from the notion that we Are being As usual pushed around. The whole episode in China reinforces that impression. Or. Carter could Correct that impression significantly by a few Blunt statements about Taiwan and China. C Washington Star the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on this Page represent those of the authors and Are in no Way to be considered As representing the views of the stars and stripes or the United states government