European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 22, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 12 the stars and stripes thursday september 22, 1977 Anthony Lewis Lance performed Well but it still won t Wash Strom what we be 6or rot 0 is keep the Camal amp 5ivbthb rest away watching Bert Lance perform with those senators hour after hour one saw Why Jimmy Carter wanted him in Washington. He was smart Cool resilient and recognizably human. It was a person speaking one woman said after the first Day s Public television coverage. It made you realize How few real people we have. They re mostly rhe  s Down Home style made his Choice of sen. Charles h. Percy As a Princi pal target for counterattack the More effective. Percy s matinee face and carefully modulated voice have never seemed More artificial. Under attack hews reduced at one Point to suggesting that Lance s counsel Clark Clifford be sworn. Anyone who can ruffle the unction of Chuck Percy can t be All  was extremely shrewd of Lance to come on As an underdog a victim of latter Day mccarthyism. That tactic had a Clif Ford ring to it and there is a certain irony in seeing the exemplary Washington insider called in to help the Georgia outsiders in their first real trouble. But Lance was on his own most of the time in the hearings and obviously not playing a part written by his lawyers. Moreover he had a Point in his com plaint about the Senate committee. It had its Chance to dig into the Lance record inthe confirmation proceeding last january but the senators and the staff flunked their Job. Whether because of general ineptitude or excessive deference to a new administration Bert Lance was nodded  chairman and ranking minority member of the committee later denounce the press for unfairly criticizing Lance and still later treated him to unfairly Loose charges themselves. That record of bumbling and inconsistency puts the senators in an awkward Posi Tion to do anything firm in the Lance affair now and there is no sign that they will. The other main source of criticism the press also has reason for some caution. Having urged and then predicted Lance departure from Washington the press might be thought to have a vested interesting that outcome. All in All then Lance got through the hearings in better shape than almost anyone had expected. He confounded the predictors by not resigning and he has going for him now an understandable pleasure in seeing someone defy the received Washington Wisdom. And yet it will not Wash. For however effective he was from moment to moment in the hearings Bert Lance came through in the end As something utterly different from the standards set by Jimmy Carter for government service people we  it is not just that he is a country Slicker Slippery with words. He has Cut every Corner in sight to make Money. If he has not violated any Laws then he is the sort of Man whose tricks make us write new Laws. The adjective that suggested itself before the hearings remains unhappily the right one for Bert Lance s record Sleazy. Sen. William v. Roth of Delaware called Lance s attention to a letter he wrote in 1973, after examiners from the comptroller of the currency had criticized personal and family overdrafts at his Bank. In the letter Lance told the comptroller s office management has been instructed to take immediate action to cure overdrafts of directors officers employees and members of their  but the overdrafts continued rot noted. He asked Lance were you a Man of your word Lance gave an indirect answer refer ring As he often did to the circumstances 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. At the  his other answer for Over drafts that violated Federal banking regu lations and his own promises was that no one lost Money in the end. In other words the rules do not count the end Justi fies the . Jacob javits of new York asked whether if he had it to do Over Lance would again let his Bank play a part i handling his Campaign Bills when he ran for governor in 1974. Lance gave a 195 word answer that included this passage now if i would do it Over again you know the answer to that that because of the fact that it has been looked at and scrutinized and certain things that have come about As a result of that certainly i would say to you that if Given my druthers and Given my choices i would even make sur that it was even More of an arms length transaction than it actually was and we tried our very Best under the circumstance  Short he would do it differently be cause his behaviour then is causing him bother now not because he sees anything wrong in it. Nor did he admit a wrong in any of his dubious banking practices. Lance said correctly that it would be quite unfair if he were found innocent and still drummed out of Washington be cause continuing controversy distracted him from his Job. But the Senate commit tee is not Likely to give such a definite ver dict. The responsibility will continue to lie with president Carter. After these hear Ings the chances Are that he can keep Bert Lance in town for at least a while. But in the Long run and probably not very Long the result will be to swell the Public cynicism about government that Many of us believed Jimmy Carter would reduce. La new York times Roy Wilkins action needed on Black jobless unemployment was a right Choice to focus on for Over a dozen Black representatives of agencies and organizations who met recently in new York. They were concerned by what they de scribed As the callous neglect by the Carter administration of the problems of Blacks in the cities. While there might be disagreement that neglect by the Carter administration could be termed callous there would be wide consensus that Desper ate and pressing Domestic problems need to be higher on the government s priority list than foreign policy plans for say establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba. The unemployment figure for Blac youth is at its highest figure. A Survey of employment of youth during the summer showed that the unemployment of Black Young people Rose by 100,000 from 1976. Since 1975 the unemployment rate for som of Dick Lack youth has been a steady 40 per cent As compared to 18 per cent for Whites. The . Department of labor report for August shows that 2.4 Blacks were out of work for every unemployed White. The . Civil rights commission reports that during 1975-76 there were 1.5 million Blacks unemployed but that the figure could More Likely be 3 million when hidden unemployment is taken into consideration. The report further states that unemployment among Black females is the highest of any group classified by age rate or sex. Statistics releases by the Urban league showed an unemployment rate of 14.3 percent for Blacks 12.4 per cent for hispanics and 8.2 per cent for Whites in the Spring. Now the department of labor reports that the unemployment rate among Blacks Ina gust was 14.5 per cent. Secretary of labor Ray Marshall has described the unemployment of Black youths As  George Meany of the Al Cio who has been reminding the Carter administration of the serious prob Lem of joblessness added his word of agreement to the complaints of those at tending the meeting of Blacks. The president has expressed his Dee concern about unemployment and his awareness that Blacks Are More beset by this problem than Whites. He has ordered his Cabinet study group formed last Spring to determine the administration s Urban policy to step up its work. He has also or dered the Secretary of labor to determine reasons for the extremely High Black unemployment. Black people could explain the reason for the disparate rate without any investigation. One word would Tell the Story prejudice. Despite the safeguards against Bias there is pervasive discrimination in the Job Market. It shows itself again and agian in the personnel offices of factories and plants in the hiring Halls in govern mental offices and in nepotism on ethnic Levels in the apportioning of Union jobs. It shows itself too in the area of Job preparation by the continuation of inferior elementary and secondary school Educa Tion by closed educational opportunities because of Grade Point percentages or by denial of apprenticeship assignments. The late Whitney Young then the executive director of the National Urban league called for a Marshall plan Type columns comments of program to help the unemployed and the disadvantaged of the american cities. He reasoned that the United states was Able to resurrect the War torn cities of Europe and set them on the Road to  limited Job programs started by the Federal government which George mean Calls band aids have not stemmed the tide of unemployment. Perhaps a Gigantic across the Board program like that suggested by or. Young could solve the unemployment situation and the problems contributing to and resulting from it which have bred despair and decay in the cities but Ite Ould not be accomplished within balanced budget. C Register Tribune Syndicate