European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday september 18, 1977 the stars and stripes Page 15 James Reston Urban crisis in . Is Pennant not rat race question i be come to new York to review the Urban crisis. How s it going answer just now reaching the critical stage in new York Boston and Baltimore. Other cities seem to be immune. Q How would you describe the symptoms a Well most people in the affected Urban areas just seem a Little nutty. I would describe it As a form of acute Para Noia marked by the oddest Public express ions of deep affection and Savage hostility. A How very Odd. How do they Demon Strate these contradictory sentiments a by gathering together every night or so and shouting and shaking their fists and calling people vicious names. Also i believe that in spasms of acute tension some of them have been known to drink intoxicating beverages. Q this is serious. Could you give me an example of what sort of things they shout a not in a family newspaper. Q do you have any rational explanation of what might have caused such strange behaviour a Here in new York it is i believe the result of deep yearnings Long denied one nought almost say of unrequited love. Psychiatrists Are in general agreement that when a Community accustomed to spectacular Success suffers a series of re verses it May be patient for a time but when adversity persists Over a number of years and disappointment turns to humiliation it ultimately reacts in emotional and even riotous ways. Q i see and think i understand. You mean a new York crisis of Money crime unemployment flight of business a rejected mayor no heroes and a lot of politicians who Don t agree on anything a you obviously Don t see and Don t understand. These Are trifles Man. That s the other Urban crisis. We re not worried about Money crime unemployment and All that now we re worried about the red sox and the orioles. Q you say the most astonishing things. What do red stockings and Birds have to do with this a my Friend you Are driving me Over the Loftfield Wall. La. Me explain one Point at a time. Okay a Okay. A first business is leaving the City because new York has been losing. Ism went to Westchester Joe Namath to los Angeles. So there was unemployment and crime in the streets and the lights went out and the giants moved to Jersey. Understand a no but could you go on a that was the first Urban crisis. So 4n a desperate Gamble new York took everything it had left and bought a baseball club and rebuilt Yankee stadium. And before you could say Abe Beame the Yan Kees began to win again and everybody forgot All about the mets the jets unemployment crime and All other municipal disasters. A so everybody was Happy again a for a while yes. It was a Beautiful team a perfect Symbol of new York Rich Tough proud and selfish. Directed by a tyrant managed by a prize fighter a band of champions. A i see. Men thinking Only of the glory and reconstruction of the big Apple Boyish clean shaven and cooperative. So what s the problem a human jealousy that s what. Unable to Bear the obvious superiority of new York Boston and Baltimore mounted an invasion from the North and South and challenged our lads for the championship of the world. A was t that rather unsporting7 a Yaz. Q Yaz a i mean yes. The sneak est act of perfidy since Pearl Harbor. Q what about Boston ? a a greedy Bunch All hit and no pitch with a Short Loftfield Fence and an ambulance squad out of Massachusetts general Hospital,.headed by a Campbell. A and Baltimore a scoundrels every one. A fishy crowd of schedule fixers. While Boston storms the Yankee stadium these Tricky Birds Are flying by night around the main Battlefield for the next 11 Days picking up Points in Canada against a pick up Little league team in Toronto. A even so am i right in thinking that you believe new York will win in the end a without the slightest doubt. Kmer son said it All things refuse to be mis managed Long All things Are double tit for Tat an Eye for an Eye a tooth for a tooth blood for or As the Yankees believe All things that Are cast Down Rise to the top again y was of Emerson a ballplayer a actually he was a Boston fan but he was a philosopher. He knew the Law of compensation for every Accident a Gul Lett a Guidry Figueroa Torrez or Tidrow for every million Dollar Hunter a Catfish for every Fence in Yankee stadium a Jackson Nettles Rivers Chambliss. Munson or White. For every potential disaster a Sparky Lyle. A and for every Urban disaster a the Yankees for it is written that strength grows out of weakness in All places especially Boston and Baltimore in new York t Mes insurance company new England life of course we Pat. George f. Will tax form checkoff could give arts new life support for Art if not Art itself has improved since the Renaissance when an artist s support could depend upon a difficult interview with the borgias. But there still is room for improvement and rep. Fred Richmond a Brooklyn Democrat has an idea. His Bill would enable taxpayers to use their tax forms to make deductible contributions to the National endowments for the arts and humanities. Unlike the checkoff for support of presidential campaigning the arts checkoff would not dictate the use of any portion of an individual s tax liability. The taxpayer would add the contribution to his taxes owed or subtract it from what the government owes As a refund. Supporters of the Bill guess that it would generate $1.8 billion annually. That is an inflated figure but Cut it in half and it i about four times the combined appropriations for the humanities and arts endow ments. One serious problem with Richmond still is that funnelling such a Large portion of the nation s arts contributions through two Federal agencies would dangerously expand Washington s domination of Cul Ture. And the Law might be successful. Wellington said British troops could stand anything but defeat or Victory and perhaps the arts can stand anything but poverty and affluence. Poverty closes the aters and museums affluence removes the discipline that compels the persons Al locating support to choose Between Merito rious and inferior culture. There is no immediate danger of affluence. Spending on the arts and attendance at cultural events is higher than Ever and rising rapidly. Corporate generosity has soared beyond reasonable expectations. Business support for the arts has in creased tenfold from $22 million to $221 million since 1967. But costs Are rising much faster than Jeffrey Ballet cancelled its last Spring season. The american Ballet Thea Ter sold its Marc Chagall sets for operating revenues. The Hartford Ballet Cut three quarters of its touring season. The Buffalo philharmonic spent $900,000 of its endow ment to pay debts. The metropolitan opera had to raise $12.5 million to stay open in 1977 and needs $14 million above ticket sales for 1978. The american Shakespeare festival in Stratford conn., closed. Rep. Richmond s Bill would do much to alleviate such problems. It does conflict with president Carter s desire to simplify tax forms. But this is not a serious objection because simplicity is not so important that All other considerations must yield to it. In this complicated society the Revenue system is one of the things that works efficiently and it should be a serv ant of serious purposes. A More important objection to Rich mond s Bill is that it sets a precedent that will be cited by Many clamorous interests All anxious to use the internal Revenue service for fund raising purposes. Already there is a proposal to allow taxpayers to contribute through their tax forms to the olympic team. Needless to say the legislation has stirred in artists breasts a passion that is impossible to misread greed. Artists Art not immune to unseemly passions Saiva Dor Dall at seven i wanted to be Napo Leon and my ambition has been growing Ever the passions that move maritime interests Dairy Farmers and other contestants for interests supporting the Bill argue with More piety than sincerity that it is not really a subsidy because it does not Call for appropriations. But the use of irs for fund raising purposes would be by what Ever name a substantial Federal favor. If say Mobil Oil lobbied for Federal favors with the bravado of the various arts interests Mobil would be roundly hissed whereas arts interests Are applauded for their Public spirited Ness when they lobby for their self interest. My dying words like those of i Hope millions of americans will request that the Hearse bearing my remains to burial be powered by Mobil gasoline As thanks for Mobil s support of masterpiece theater on Public television u Washington to t
