In the Public Interest

WASHINGTON–When Richard Nixon was promoting the safety of nuclear power plants before the Associated Press editors last month, he asserted reassuringly that his San Clemente residence was only a few miles from one such nuclear facility. What he didn’t tell the editors is that this plant at San Onofre, California, had closed down for several…

One of the benefits of the present short term energy shortfall is the attention it throws on the enormous waste of energy by suppos­edly cost-conscious industri­al and commercial firms. Many corporate executives will have to explain why and how they dissipated corporate resources over the years while holding out to shareholders and con­sumers an image…

WASHINGTON–President Nixon’s statement on the energy situation placed far more burdens on consumers than on industry. Together with his legislative proposals on the energy problem., the message adds up to a windfall for booming corporate profits and a shortfall for the consumer’s health and pocketbook. To start with, one would never learn from the President’s…

WASHINGTON–“Mommy, what’s going on in there?” asked the little girl as she waited with a group of tourists about to be herded through the Congress. That’s a good question and neither she nor most of the 1.2 million Americans who are guided through the U.S. Congress each year will get much of an answer. Instead,…

WASHINGTON–“Keeping the Church in its place” has long been the objective of business men who control the investment committees of religious institutions. Since the late Sixties, a growing number of clergy has been challenging the position that the Church’s ethical and moral posture should have no relevance in determining the criteria for investment and shareholder…

WASHINGTON—Since January of this year, millions of airline passengers have had their hand baggage and personal carry-on articles physically inspected as part of the government’s anti-hijacking program. There has not been a single domestic hi-jack since these procedures were put into effect. Now the airlines are installing x-ray inspection systems, mainly at the nation’s 30…

WASHINGTON–The Ford Motor Company is on the campaign trail to break the will of Congress and weaken the Clean Air Act of 1970. Offering lavish food and drink, Ford executives have been inviting business and civic leaders in city after city to luxurious luncheons preceded by press conferences and followed by speeches against this federal…

WASHINGTON–Sixteen year old Carl Ferrigno was sitting in a parked car one night last month alongside a road near Rochester, New York, when a police car approached him thinking a motorist needed assistance. Suddenly he took off with the police car in hot pursuit. Six miles down the road, Carl crashed fatally into a power…

WASHINGTON–“Keeping the Church in its place” has long been the objective of business­men who control the investment committees of religious institutions. Since the late Sixties, a growing number of clergy has been challenging the position that the Church’s ethical and moral posture should have no relevance in determining the criteria for in­vestment and shareholder action…

WASHINGTON—It’s called “The Bank Book.” It is an exposure of banks by a bank insider using the pseudonym of Morgan Irving. This book is only one indication that the consumer movement is finally catching up with the banking industry. At about the same time later this fall another booklength critique on banking will be published…