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002485 12 Congressmen Side with Sierrans There was another controversy-within-a-controversy-that which had developed between the Sierra Club and the Internal Revenue Service. In Washington the club gained some allies when 12 congressmen signed a letter to IRS Commissioner Sheldon Cohen advising him that they' had made contributions to the club and intended to claim them as income tax deductions. The letter said the IRS had "cast a shadow over the club's tax exemption, but avoided any action which the Sierra Club-or anyone else-could challenge." Therefore, the congressmen wrote, a ruling should be handed down immediately to "clear up confusion and permit the club to take legal action to clear its name, if necessary." "The question is not whether one sup- ports or opposes the proposed controversial Grand Canyon dams which the Sierra Club is fighting," said the letter. "It is whether or not the Internal Revenue Service ought properly to set public policy, or whether its only proper function is to carry out tax policy set by Congress. The announcement (by IRS) damaged not only the Sierra Club but every other conservation effort supported by public contribution. This is neither a fair nor a proper use of the taxing power of the federal government." The congressmen said their action was not to be construed either as opposition to or support of the dams. A day or so after the congressmen's letter was released, the Sierra Club, became the subject of another communication, this one an angry statement in the House by' Congressman Udall. He denied that he or his brother were responsible for bringing the club's tax-exempt status into question. Mr. Brower, he said, "seems to be unable to conduct a discourse without a villain, and for want of a better target has placed my name in nomination. I decline the honor." The congressman said Mr. Brower alone among conservation leaders had "persisted in false and unprin- cipled personal attacks on members of Congress and leaders of the executive branch." "And he alone has recklessly ignored the facts and painted a grossly distorted picture of the Colorado River Basin project," continued Mr. Udall. "In talking with my colleagues I find that the falsity of Mr. Brower's campaign is becoming more and more clear to members of Congress. His irresponsible charges about 'flooding the Grand Canyon' are falling on deaf ears. And in my judgment the members and directors of the Sierra Club ought to be asking themselves whether Mr. Brower is doing their cause as much good as he is harm." Mr. Udall said he did not want to deprive the Sierra Club of its tax-exempt status. But neither did he want "this or any other organization" lobbying at taxpayers' expense. "There exist conservation organizations, allied with the Sierra Club, which have never sought special tax status and which exist for this very purpose," said Mr. Udall. "There are the organizations which ought to be accepting contributions and carrying on this -14- , .~.>. .;.;_.....'. . . . :':"::;"::::" ",-':.,:~::::::::/:' .....:, ".. n' ...... .'.,,'-. -" ";'''. .' . ~..t..~:.. "-: ." ..-:.... - ~. . ~~:.-; ~.~:' :-.::~'. ::::'-. ~.:. ,';:. - :~../~.)~.;~}~. ~'~'2: '.,: '-'''",: -:.~:.;/: '." :;...:":.:.. ;:'".-. . - ~.'", '. ~"."...;' ~-' ....._.-<~:/):;.~ . .~. ". . . -' .-; -::." .' . ".,.:.;