Cluttered Corner Smog Is Covering Our State Capitol By Milt Phillips THERE SEEMS TO BE A GROWING philosophy among state employees that any money in the state treasury is “fair game” for whatever they desire to take for themselves. Most of the excessive state payouts are showing up in travel payments to individuals, usually some bigwheel or some ex-legislator like the ex-senator from Ardmore who has been charging the state for trips from home to work and also for his hotel bills while working. Wonder if the examples of freewheeling poverty programs of the Great Society established by LBJ, plus the philosophy of “they said we couldn’t win but we did” of the present state administration, are the basic causes of the present widespread raid on state expense accounts? The “we are in the saddle” philosophy of the present state administration up at Ok City could be encouraging these take-it-whilewe- can-get-it activities. Even the Dads of our biggest Big Wheels is getting into the act. So long as people accept such things, laugh about them, or treat them as partisan situations, so long will we be seeing such conditions existing.

WE’D LIKE TO COMPLIMENT the Oklahoma City Capital Press Corps for the good job they are doing in looking into these excessive travel expenses. Who knows, they may come up with something a lot bigger than bloated travel claims. A lot of people predicted a few years ago the present state administration would make the noted Jack Walton administration look like pikers. Maybe we are on our way to seeing that prediction come true. A few more $100,000 grape vinyards and few more ex-state senators drawing a couple thousand dollars per year for driving to work and paying room and board for him the three days per week he does work, may be only the surface of what is under cover and out of sight of the public. The activities of the Capital Press Corps up at Ok City may prove again the value to every citizen of a free press. The “smog” of suspicion covering the present administration could prove to be more than just a fleeting glimpse of pollution. -oOo WOUNDED KNEE, S.D. (UPI) Food, fuel and medicine were in short supply today in this tiny hamlet on the sprawling Pine Ridge Indian reservation, which militant Indians have occupied for more than two weeks.

A near-blizzard cooled off the armed confrontation between the 200 Indians occupying Wounded Knee and federal officials, who relaxed a blockade of 800 U.S. marshals and Indian police ringing the tiny Oglala Sioux village.

Federal agents appeared eager to take control of the village away from the militant American Indian Movement (AIM) leaders who have occupied the village since 16 days ago.

“If they weren’t Indians we’d have moved in already,” an FBI agent said early today. “If they were something like the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), we’d have moved in a long time ago.”

But a Justice Department spokesman said there were no plans to storm the settlement. The blockade of the village – a federal trading post – appeared to be succeeding.

Dennis Banks, an AIM leader, said fuel was “down to 10 percent” in the settlement, and the militants were down to one meal a day – “mostly beans.” Enough insulin for five sick persons had entered the settlement. Because of the weather, there was no indication when supplies would arrive.

Indians and government agents agreed to meet again today for the third straight day, and Interior Secretary Rogers C. B. Morton agreed to visit the hamlet “when they take the guns away from people’s heads.”

The militant Indians have demanded an investigation of all Indian reservations in South Dakota and the ouster of most elected officials on this reservation.

Morton said there was no way he could oust the chairman and tribal council of the Oglala Sioux. “They’re asking us to do something we don’t have the power to do and that’s impeach the tribal chairman and council,” Morton said.

“I’m going to go out there to find out if any of these charges have any substance to them,” Morton said, but added: “I’m not going to meet with anyone with a gun at my head or a gun at a hostage’s head.”

In Sioux Falls Tuesday, U.S. Attorney William Clayton announced the indictments of 31 persons on charges of civil disorder, conspiracy, burglary and larceny in connection with the takeover of the hamlet.

Kidnaping was not among the charges, Clayton said. Although 11 persons were reported taken hostage during the seizure of this historic site, they later were released. Even then, 10 of them decided to stay.

Dennis Banks, an AIM leader, called the indictments “an attempt by government officials to discredit what has happened here… instead of indicting us they should indict the system.”