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Past opinions provide perspective
Looking Back reviews opinions published in The Spokesman-Review during this week in history.
Give FDR a chance, Dec. 24, 1933
An S-R editorial concurred with outgoing President Herbert Hoover’s request that Congress not obstruct the new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“The president is trying to lift the country out of depression, and his involved, complicated program has numerous points to its credit, notably the cleaning up of the banking mess, the embargo on gold and the ban on sweatshops and abuse of child labor. Withdrawal from further entanglements in Europe is another act of sound statesmanship.
“As for the rest, it will all come out in the wash. If the president can make a success of this unprecedented venture into the control of agriculture, business, industry, banking, public works, transportation, communication and other affairs of the people, which heretofore, from Washington’s time, has been left to the enterprise, genius and courage of the people, his fame will be long enduring. On the other hand, if he should make a mess of it, he will be a one-term president.”
Moses Lake tragedy, Dec. 21, 1952
An editorial examined the crash of an Air Force Globemaster transport plane that killed 83 servicemen who were homeward bound for Christmas.
“No one knows today the exact cause of the horrifying disaster near Moses Lake yesterday. But the United States Air Force certainly ought to search out all possible reasons why there have been so many military air crashes in recent weeks.”
The editorial went on to say: “The Moses Lake crash has brought sorrow and consternation to many airmen and many families of airmen. Their anticipations of a joyous holiday season have resulted in a bereavement hard for others to realize. The loss of these precious lives is a staggering blow to their immediate survivors and is also a supreme tragedy to the Air Force as well.”
It concluded: “But no explanations or formal findings can take the place of the scores of vigorous young American airmen who won’t be home for Christmas.”
New DUI limit, Dec. 23, 1998
An editorial supported a tougher legal limit for intoxication.
“Post-holiday revelers will wake up to a healthy new surprise on New Year’s Day. The legal limit of intoxication while driving will drop from a blood-fermenting level of .10 percent to a tougher .08 percent in Washington state.
“That’s the level a 170-pound man reaches after four drinks in an hour on an empty stomach. A 140-pound woman would be likely to hit .08 percent after three drinks in an hour. That’s still a lot of alcohol consumption. The state’s new laws are designed, in part, to crack down on heavy drinkers who drive.
“We can hope they will deter criminals like James Barstad, the convicted murderer who drove his pickup through a red light at Mission and Hamilton on May 25, 1996, killing Julie Allen and Karen Sederholm. Barstad had two prior drunken driving arrests in Spokane before that accident.
“But these laws should also affect the daily decisions of the rest of us.”