WHERE THE ACTION IS
Wednesday, November
Sorensen Vs. Tiemann .
Alumni
By John Fryar
Junior Staff Writer
In Nebraska's gubernatori
al race, Democratic Lt. Gov
ernor Philip C. Sorensen of
Lincoln faces the GOP nom
inee, Norbert T. Tiemann of
Wausa.
Both Sorensen, 32, and Tie
mann, 41, are alumni of the
University. Sorensen was
graduated cum Iaude from
the College of Law while Tie
mann received a B.S. from
the College of Agriculture.
Sorensen's background in
addition to his term as Lieu
tenant Governor includes: law
clerk to federal district judge,
editor-in-chief of the Nebras
ka Law Review, president of
the Malone Community Cen
ter, agriculture executive
committee member of th
Lincoln Chamber of Com
merce, presently chairman of
State Committee on Mental
Retardation, State Coordina
tor of Civil Rights, and com
munity Council study commit
tees. Sorensen is a Korean War
veteran.
Wausa banker Tieman was
an assistant county agent, as
sistant manager of the Ne
braska Hereford Association
Central City, executive secre
tary of the National Live
stock Feeders Association
Omaha, Director of industrial
relations for the Nebraska
Livestock and Meat Board
Chicago, president of the Ne
braska Bankers Association,
Federal Legislative Commit
tee of the American Bankers
Association and three-t e r m
mayor of Wausa.
Tiemann is a veteran of
Wrorld War II and Korea.
The Daily Nebraskan asked
both candidates questions re
garding various issues, in
volved in this year's cam
paign. The questions and the
Lincoln Faces Vote On Liquor Law Change;
Citizens Last Considered Amendment In 1946
By Julie Morris
Senior Staff Writer
One of the two Lincoln city
proposals on the Nov. 8 bal
lot is a proposal to allow the
city to license the sale of liq
uor by the drink.
The proposal, which was
last voted on in 1946, would
make it possible to sell hard
liquor by the glass across the
bar at taverns, restaurants
and clubs.
The proposal was placed on
the ballot by an initiative pe
tition with 5,373 valid signa
tures that was circulated by
the Committee of 66, a group
organized by the Lincoln
Chamber of Commerce early
in June. The committee was
under the leadership of Tom
Pansing, former Chamber
president.
Committee Of 66
The Committee of 66 dis
banded after the required sig
natures had been filed. The
only purpose of the group,
Pansing said, was to get the
issue on the ballot. The com
mittee was "just trying to
help the town", he said.
One of the chief factors In
volved In the liquor by the
drink issue is whether the
City Council would limit the
number of establishments
that would be granted the
Class C, liquor by the drink,
licenses.
At the present time there is
no limit set on the number of
until Nov. 9 is the Lancaster County Election Commis
sioner's Office.
1966
Meet In Gubernatorial Competition
candidates' answers are as
follows:
What is the major proble
facing Nebraska today?
Sorensen: "Education is
both the number one program
and the number one prob
lem." Sorensen said that this
problem was linked in many
ways to problems of taxation,
industrialization and youth
flow from the state.
Tiemann: Taxes are the
major problem, especially
concerning the present prop
erty tax system, which he
called "outmoded".
Tiemann said in his opin
ion that the tax system should
SORENSEN
toottle clubs the city may
have, while the number of
beer outlets and package
stores is limited by the coun
cil. According to the Stale Liq
uor Control Commission,
there are presently 30 bottle
clubs In Lincoln. These clubs
serve liquor by the drink to
patrons who pay member
ships fees that range in
amount. The cheapest are $3
to $5 per year.
In addition the city also has
13 nonprofit bottle clubs that
serve liquor by the drink to
members. These clubs include
the Elks Lodge, the Veterans
of Foreign Wars and the Le
gion Club.
Pool System
A bottle club operates on a
pool system whereby the
members all contribute so
much through the member
ship fee and the liquor is pur
chased on a retail basis with
the funds the club has. The
nonprofit clubs operate the
same way except that they
are authorized by federal law
to buy their liquor wholesale.
The city also has 64 beer
outlets, of which no more than
45 can be on-sale taverns, and
33 package liquor stores that
sell off-sale hard liquor only.
The thought among some
citizens in that the city "al
ready has" liquor by the
drink in the bottle clubs so
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The Daily Nebraskan
be revised, with complete ab
olition of the property tax.
Are the institutions of high
er learning in Nebraska, es
pecially the University, of a
sufficiently high caliber and
capacity to meet the needs of
the state?
Sorensen: Nebraskans "can
be proud" of the University
and the system of state col
leges. He said, however, that
there was a constant need of
growth and a "continued
striving toward greater aca
demic excellence."
Tiemann: There is "always
room for improvement."
Tiemann said that more ed
ucational excellence could
"Education is
problem."
Nebraska's major
the measure might as well
pass.
Lincoln Police Chief Joseph
Carroll said "as far as I'm
concerned, Lincoln has it (liq
uor by the drink) now."
"If they (citizens) just open
their eyes and look around
they'll see we have liquor by
the drink," Edmund Dittmer,
a package liquor store owner
said.
A University coed com
mented, "We now have a
pseudo liquor by the drink
law anyway."
"Lincoln citizens are mak
ing a mockery of the law
when you can go to a bottle
club and buy a membership
of $3 and get liquor by the
drink. You shouldn't be able
to buy the law for $3," she
said.
A bottle club owner said the
present system of non-legalized,
but actual liquor by the
drink is "hyprocritical."
On the other hand, some
citizens feel that to pass the
liquor by the drink measure
would Increase rather than
decrease or check the num
ber of Class C license estab
lishments. "If we passed it (the pro
posal) every other door would
be a bar," a businessman
said.
WCTU
The Lancaster County
Women's Christian Temper
ance Union (WCTU) has spok
r. Shannon Predicts Returns;
Nebraska May
By Mick Lowe
Junior Staff Writer
This may be a Republican
year in Nebraska, according
to Dr. Jasper Shannon, pro
fessor of political science at
the University.
"Nebraska has had a Dem
ocratic administration for
eight years," reflected Shan
non, "and may be ready for
a change." Phil Sorensen fac
es a problem in that he has
to take the blame for every
thing that's gone wrong in the
previous administrations."
Norbert Tiemann can at
tack the status quo and make
counter proposals, whereas
Sorensen must stick with ex-
be reached with an "upgrad
ing of all existing education
al institutions and the estab
lishment of a system of voca
tional trade schools and juni
or colleges. In addition, a re
search center located at the
University would attract scho
lars and funds.
Is the present University
budget request an unrealistic
demand for funds?
Sorensen: "I would have to
go over the budget line by
line, but I did not feel that in
creased demands in them
selves were bad, in view of
the needs of enrollment in
creases, competitive faculty
salaries and funds for re
TIEMANN
property tax
en against the measure on the
basis that the law would per
mit the establishment of more
liquor outlets.
The Lincoln Journal editor
ially warned against the pas
sage of the proposal because,
the editorial said, the law
would cause a slip In the mor
al tone of the city.
The only organizations that
are actively fighting the is
sue, however, are the WCTU
and the Lincoln Citizens
Against Liquor by the Drink.
The latter organization was
formed three weeks ago un
der the direction of the Rev.
Mrs. Richard Gage. The
group's chairman is Fred
Patzel. The organization has
been advertising and distri
buting literature against the
proposal.
The City Council has not
made any statements for or
against the proposal. Mayor
Dean Petersen said the coun
cil has not given serious con
sideration to any liquor by
the drink policies such as lim
iting the number of licenses
granted.
Indications are, however,
that the Council, which has
the initial authority on to rule
on licenses in the city, will
set some type of guidelines.
State Liquor commissioner
Francis Robinson said the
commission will go along
with city recommendations
on limiting licenses if these
tant and previously-proposed
legislation.
"But if Sorensen does win,"
explained Shannon, "the Ne
braska GOP will be in a very
weak position. With four
more years in the state house
we would have had a total of
12 years of Democratic lead
ershipand with the tendency
for Nebraskans to re-elect
their governors that would
mean four more after 1970."
If Tiemann wins, Shannon
foresees some major changes
in Nebraska government.
"I would assume that he
will demand forthright that
the legislature authorize in
curring a debt for the con-
Vol. 90, No. 29
search and the library.
Sorensen added that he
would have to work closely
with the legislature in using
the tools of his position in or
der to provide an effective
budget.
Tiemann: "I was shocked
at the size" because the large
increase in the last biennium
showed a lack of leadership
of the executive branch.
Tiemann said that such a
"catch-up budget" could only
be blamed on this lack of
leadership by the "caretaker
of the budget."
What kind of state tax base
Cont. on Pg. 4, Col. 3.
system "outmoded.
are "reasonable." Final
au-
thority over liquor regulation
rests with the commission.
?Carroll said the council
"might give some considera
tion to limiting the number of
Class C licenses even if the
measure is defeated.
If the measure is approved,
Robinson said each Class C
application will be considered
as a new one even if the es
tablishment may now have a
bottle club.
Some of the bottle clubs
now operating, then, may face
the prospect of being shut
down if the measure passes
and the City Council limits
the number of licenses.
Tony Alesio, owner of a lo
cal bottle club, said there is
"no guarantee" that his es
tablishment will get a Class
C license, if the liquor by the
drink law passes, but added,
"I think the city needs it."
Alesio said it is only hear
say that present bottle club
operators will be able to re
tain their operations if t h e
proposal passed.
Alesio also said that if the
liquor by the drink measure
is approved, "the state should
enforce some type of age
identification that would be
foolproof." He said the pos
sibility that a liquor dealer
may be selling liquor to min
ors with false identification
"places a man in an awful
position."
Go Republican
JL
struction of highways as he
has promised in the cam
paign. And I think the legis
lature would approve the
measure. Better highways
would be popular in rural
areas, and urban areas as
well."
In the Senatorial race, Shan
non said, "The odds are on
Curtis."
Concerning the referendum
which will face the voters on
Nov. 8, Shannon said "Ref
erenda are always confusing.
It seems to me that we've
got to have the income tax,
but they've crippled along for
8 or 10 years without it.
What could happen is that
the people will vote down the
income tax and vote for the
property tax, and then we'd
be right back where we start
ed." The University budget, sure
to be a controversial issue aft
er the elections, "can be
made to look bad in legisla
tive hearings, whether the
people of Nebraska want it
or not. I'd hate to say that
the University budget will be
defeated. But I am saying
that it's a problem for the
governor to overcome the
Budget Committee."
The election could alter ra
dically legislation in Washing
ton as well, according to
Shannon.
"I think there is a fairly
good chance that the Repub
licans can win enough seats
in Congress to seriously weak
en the Johnson administra
tion," he declared.
In the House, particularly,
Shannon observed, the Re
Election Edition
Vote Could Remove
Entire Tax System
By Julie Morris
Senior Staff Writer
Voters will be deciding the
fate of Nebraska's state tax
system in the Nov. 8 elections
and their decisions , could
change the entire system,
keep things as they are, or
leave the state with no taxes.
The election day ballot in
cludes an amendment that
would axe the present state
property tax and a petition
that would kill the proposed
state income tax.
Voters could decide to keep
the property tax, block the
implementation of the income
tax or eliminate the property
tax and implement an income
tax.
Or the voters could vote
against both taxes, thereby
leaving the state with no
means to tax.
The existing state property
tax, established 100 years
ago, is on the ballot as an
initiative petition circulated
by state farm organizations,
principally the Nebraska
Farm Bureau Federation.
In addition, the newly
passed state income tax is al
so on the ballot because of a
referendum petition circulat
ed by opponents of the bill.
The state property tax sys
tem provides for taxation of
all real estate and tangible
and intangible property. By
state statute, property is as
sessed at 35 percent of its ac
tual dollar value.
For instance, a house that
is worth $10,000 would be
taxed at an assessed value
of $3,500.
Each year, the state Board
of Equalization figures what
the property tax rate, or levy,
will be by dividing the total
assessed valuation of proper
ty in the entire state into the
budget for the year.
In addition to state proper
ty taxes, Nebraskans pay
property taxes to their coun
ties and local school districts.
All of the operations of figur
ing and collecting the proper
ty taxes is handled at t h e
county level.
Nebraska's income tax law
LB797 passed in the 1965 Le
gislative session, provides for
a state tax that would be le
vied on income rather than
property.
The measure was sched
uled to go into effect Jan. 1,
1967, but probably will not re
gardless of the referendum's
outcome because of admini
strative details.
LB797 would tax Incomes
on a flat rate. The tax levy
would be computed each year
by the Board of Equalization
exactly the way the property
tax levy is now figured. The
rate would not be a fixed one.
The income tax law follows
the federal income tax law
closely, allowing the same
type of exemptions and using
the same type of form. Filing
publicans will not need too
many more seats. The result
would be a "re-combination
of the old Southern Demo
crats and Midwestern conser
vatives as in the 1950's."
The greatest consequence
of such an alignment would
be refusal to pass legislation
tor increased taxes," Shann
on said. "If President John
son requests higher taxes aft
er the election, the new Con
gress might refuse to pass the
bill just to make Johnson
look bad."
In that case, according to
Shannon, the rising tide of
inflation will go unstemmed.
Romney: GOP Choice
Looking ahead toward the
Presidential elections, he pre
dicted that Gov. George Rom
ney of Michigan will be the
Republican choice to face
President Johnson.
Shannon picks Romney ov
er Richard Nixon simply be
cause the "GOP hates to go
with a loser. They did it with
Dewey, and it probably won't
happen again."
Shannon favors Johnson
over Robert Kennedy because,
"any President can re-nominate
himself. Kennedy has
already said that he doesn't
want the nomination."
"As for the Kennedy 'phe
nomenon', I think the news
magazines are just looking
for someone to write about,"
he said. "We had a Garfield
phenomenon, a Lincoln phe
nomenon, and a McKinley
phenomenon. The same thing
happens whenever a Presi
dent is assassinated."
requirements for the two tax
es are identical.
Arguments for and against
both tax systems have been
advanced by all the major
candidates for state offices
and most state senators have
taken one side or the other.
Observers throughout the
state have indicated that
there is a very real possibil
ity that both taxes will be
voted down by the voters.
The party platforms of both
state political parties include
planks calling for a combina
tion sales-income tax to re
place the property tax and
LB797 if they are voted out
Both gubernatorial candi
dates, Democrat Philip Sor
ensen and Republican Nor
bert Tiemann, have stated
they would favor an income
tax with a graduated pay
scale.
Many sources agree that
the property tax at the state
level must go or must be up
dated. "If we're going to continue
to demand more services it's
a possibility that we may
have to look for other sourc
es of revenue to supplement
the property tax," George
Dworak, state tax commis
sioner said.
Dworak added that per cap
ita, counting each man, wom
an and child in the state, the
tax rate of the state is "one
of the lowest" in the nation.
"The property tax does
have its drawbacks," Dwor
ak said. He said that profes
sional men, who may earn as
much as a farmer or busi
nessman, may actually pay
much less in taxes because
the professional man would
not have the same capital in
vestment in property that the
farmer or businessman must
have to operate.
On the other hand, Peters
noted that one of the objec
tions to LB797 is that the tax
is a flat rate, the same for
everyone's incomes.
Nevertheless, the Income
tax Is progressive because of
the exemptions offered, Clay
ton Yeutter of the Univer
sity's department of agricul
tural economics said.
The income tax bill LB797,
would lower taxes for individ
uals and firms who use a lot
of property in their business
es and for many people in
the low income and retired .
groups because these groups
will benefit from exemptions
and deductions and because
retired people will not be
taxed on social security in
come, Yeutter said.
LB797 will raise taxes for
"high income individuals and
firms and particularly for
those who require little prop
erty in earning a living,"
Yeutter said.
This group would include
doctors, lawyers, dentists and
other professional people, he
added.
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