Mr» Prances Schoen-*e»8paper Eoo»
U n lv e r a lty o f O re*™ L i b ra ry
tugene, Oregon 97493
Intld«:
The real Libya
Movie Review
Marching
Band
Ragtime
page 6
Sport Talk
Page 12
Page 2
PORTLAND OBSERMER
December 31, 1981
Volume X II, Number 12
250 Per Copy
Economic ills empty hospitals
n l h i t r i n i f Siegner
by P Catherine
< 1 ___. ________ * _
Portland hospitals have not es
caped the bite o f economic recession
and inflation, as a survey by the Ob
server reveals.
Reaganomics and its attendant
budget cutbacks are reflected in
m ore em pty beds, fewer elective
o p erations, and in some cases,
tem porary s ta ff layoffs and flo o r
closures.
Here is a rundown o f the situation
at several area hospitals:
• Emanuel-. A hospital source
indicated the average census is down
a significant amount.
“ A ll hospitals are experiencing
the same thing. A n ytim e you get
that big a drop it's bound to affect
(he hospital,” the source said.
There have been no layoffs as yet
at Emanuel, but attrition (lowering
staff levels by not replacing workers
who leave) is being utilized, accord
ing to the source.
One in d icatio n o f recession’ s
effect is the larger proportion o f pa
____ a _ . » a . u >
tients treated under M edicare and
M edicaid programs. A t Em anuel,
where such patients com prise
approximately 104% o f total patient
load, that figure has gone up sub
stantially.
A ll hospitals must treat a certain
number o f patients without charge,
as required by the H ill-B urton Act.
Since many in P o rtla n d have
increased th e ir share o f no-fee
patients, it is assumed they would
rather have beds occupied by non
paying or government-reimbursed
cases than to have those beds remain
empty.
• G ood Sam aritan: Patient load
at G ood Sam in N W P o rtla n d is
down to 501 from the licensed level
o f 539, according to E. Byron
Smith, vice-president for corporate
affairs.
“ Our business is definitely down
over a period o f the last three
months,'* says Smith. “ It was also
true the winter o f 1973-74.“
Sm ith says G ood Sam has
temporarily closed floors, but that
“ we do it every year. Everybody
who can go home does through
Christm as to the end o f the year.
We did have one small unit closed
this fa ll and the patients consoli
dated.”
As far as Hill-Burton patients go,
Good Sam has “ always exceeded”
its share, Smith says.
“ 454% (o f patients) are covered by
welfare or Medicare. Only 124% are
self-payin g, and a lot o f that is
money from co-insurance (patients
pay part o f the fee, s im ilar to a
d ed u c tib le),“ he explains. "C ash
payments d o n 't am ount to more
than 104% o f our business.”
Smith admits the economic situa
tion has kept some people from
attaining medical coverage. “ People
who don't have it are those who fall
between the cracks— those who are
unem ployed or who are disabled
and are not eligible for welfare,” he
says.
W hat about Reagan’ s so-called
“ safety net” that he claimed would
be there to help poor people m ain
tain some level o f health care despite
budget cuts?
“ The Reagan adm inistration has
not to my knowledge advanced any
plan for health care,” Smith replies,
but “ the time for a national health
care plan just isn’t right for it now. I
think there will be some plan— pro
bably for catastrophic care.”
Sm ith believes the current eco
nomic situation w on't last because
“ nothing is s ta g n a n t." H o sp ital
business will adjust to accommodate
the “ graying o f Am erica” — the rise
in the over-65 age g ro u p — and
elderly care will be a focus, he adds.
“ As far as tra d itio n a l care, i t ’ s
changing.”
• Providence: This N E Portland
hospital is in a sim ilar position to
the others. “ We've had a low census
for quite a while,” says Information
Specialist Sister M a ry M arg aret
Lang. " I haven’t seen the December
figures yet, but they usually drop
because o f Christmas time— people
don’t want to go into the hospital.”
(Please turn to page I I column I)
EMANUEL HOSPITAL
Feds find no civil rights violation in possums
The U .S . Departm ent o f Justice
has announced that a federal
investigation
of
P o rtla n d ’ s
“ possum incident” has ended with
no finding o f criminal wrongdoing.
The possums were killed by on-
duty police officers and deposited in
front o f the Burgar Barn, a Black
owned restaurant, on M arch 12th.
O ffic e rs C raig W a rd and James
G a llo w a y were dismissed but
reinstated following an arbitration
hearing. The other officers involved
were not disciplined.
The FB I, under the supervision o f
ihc
u ttir» D e p a rtm __.
. . s C iv il
the J
Justice
e n t’
Rights Bureau, investigated the case
to determ ine i f there had been a
violation o f civil rights.
Com m issioner C harles Jordan,
who was Police C om m issioner at
the tim e o f the incident and was
pulled fro m the jo b during the
a rb itra tio n hearing by M a y o r
Iv a n c ie . said he had not been
o ffic ia lly notified o f the decision.
“ When I read about it in the paper I
wasn’t surprised - 1 d id n 't expect
any more.”
Jordan has m aintained that the
;
. ..
. .
incident was a violation o f the c iv il
rights o f the p ro p erty owners,
George and G e rald in e Powe, but
that it was not racially motivated.
“ W hat does it take to vio late
someone’s civil rights,” he asked.
" T h is is not a rhetorical question.
I f this was not a v io latio n o f civil
rights, then I really don, know what
it takes to prove a c ivil rights
v io la tio n and I doubt that the
average person on the street would
understand.
” , d id n ’ t think the government
w ould do anything about it.
_
■
Perhaps i f we had a fin a n c ia lly
healthy N A A C P , which could hire
the best attorneys, then there could
have been a better fig h t and the
outcom e
would
have
been
different.”
Jordan said neither the F B I nor
the Justice D ep artm en t
had
interview ed h im , bu, that they
a p p aren tly
had
m ade
th e ir
investigation from the record.
The Powes have file d a federal
court suit alleging the incident
violated their constitutional rights,
seeking S3.8 million in damages.
Federal grand jury investigates Black groups
In the past the governm ent has
generally been concerned with what
it viewed as openly progressive or
radical underground Black groups.
Bu, now a shift is developing.
Rainy Day: Serena Brown contemplate» eunny daya of summer
while Chrietmaa vacation drifts by.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown,
An even broader range o f Black
oriented affiliations will be scrutin
ized by a federal grand jury that is
planning hearings in a number o f
large cities including Chicago and
Los Angeles, as well as other urban
centers where Black organizations
have sizeable membership rolls.
The Black Press Institute, in Chi
cago, has learned that under a regu
lation used to investigate the M afia
a federal grand ju ry will look into
possible linkages between respected
Black organizations and terrorist
groups.
The grand jury will use the Rack
e te e rin s Influenced
In flu e n c e d and
a n d Corrupt
t n rm m O
r w r .
eteering
ganizations (R IC O ) statute to order
Blacks to testify about the organiza
tions they belong to. The grand jury
will want to know about m ember
ship, financial support and organi
zational structure, and Blacks who
are subpoenaed but fail to show up
to testify will be charged with con
tem pt o f court and then ja ile d i f
they fail to cooperate.
M any Blacks fear the probe may
in tim id a te present or p o ten tial
group members and discourage
needed contributions.
The grand jury probe is expected
to include: selected civil rights o r
ganizations; Black professional a l
liances; Black cultural groups; com
munity-based "grassroots” organi
zations; Black po litical organize-
IlllflC
a n d
tions
and
college-based groups that
recruit Black students.
A Black woman in New Y o rk ,
Yaasmyn Fula, is now serving wha,
could be an 18-month ja il sentence
because she refused to tell a grand
jury about her group: the N ational
Task Force for C O 1N T E LP R O L iti
gation and Research. Fula, a para
legal. was asked to divulge informa
tion about her clients. Her attorney,
Lewis Myers, said she was jailed de
spite protections under the sixth
amendment to the C o n s titu tio n
which involve attorney-client privi
leges.
Cointelpro was the F B I’s effort to
use in fo rm an ts to spy on Black
groups and discredit them in the
1970s. Later, the National Security
Council urged officials to perpetu
^ a _ . . J ? . . : —I
a_
ate divisions between Black groups,
derail leaders and th w a rt ties be
tween Blacks in the U .S. and Blacks
in Africa.
The thrust behind the com ing
R IC O probe began a fte r the O ct.
20th attempted robbery o f $1.6 mil
lion fro m a B rin k ’ s tru ck in New
York City. A grand ju ry was called
on to study connections between
Black groups— the Black Panthers.
Black Liberation Arm y and the Re
public o f New A f r ik a — and the
white radical W eath er U n d e r
ground.
Now the grand ju ry wants to ex
amine the v ia b ility o f other Black
groups and look fo r connections
with “ Black radicals.” Critics feel
the nation’ s conservative political
clim ate makes it suitable fo r the
hearings to take place— secretly.
This New Year, beware of redheads
by Kathryn Lindeman
Smithsonian News Service
As you’re quaffing your last toast
to the New Year, beating on a noise-
maker or pondering that final, most
im portant resolution, you might
well ask yourself, “ W h a t’ s all the
fuss about?"
W e ll, be reassured; generations
before you have made the same ,o-
d o .. and then some.
As a D ruid in old England, you
would have gathered mistletoe from
sacred trees to give as New Y e a r’ s
gifts.
O r you might have gone “ first
footing” in Scotland. A fte r a mid
night church service, Scottish homes
were open to visitors, and it was said
that a fa m ily ’ s luch for the year
would depend on who firs, crossed
the threshold.
You would have been heartily
welcomed as a firs, visitor that night
if you were a dark-haired man. On
the other hand, if you were a
wom an, a redhead, a beggar or a
person with a squint, your foot firs,
in the door would portend bad luck.
Homeowners even got in the habit
o f paying d ark-h aired men to be
there early.
A Russian custom would have re
quired that you beat the corners o f
your house with sticks to drive out
Satan around the new year.
H ow about “ wassailing” your
apple tree, as British farmers were
wont to do, by sprinkling it with
cider and singing a song for a good
crop in the coming year?
I f you were a king in ancient
Babylon, you would have been
’ •ripped o f your royal robe, made to
kneel and then solemnly boxed on
the ears and tweaked on the nose by
the high pries, as part o f the official
New Year's festival.
A , a New Y e a r’ s Eve party in
D erbyshire, England, you might,
have fished for a ring in a “ posse,“
pot. T o foretell who would m arry
during the following year, the host
ess dropped her wedding ring into
the pot o f ho, spiced milk and wine,
and the singles tried to pick up the
ring with each ladleful o f the bever
age. I f a guest succeeded, it was a
sure omen that he would wed that
year.
G ift giving, visiting friends, driv
ing ou, evil and foretelling events o f
the coming year are bu, a few New
Year’s customs that have been car
ried on through the ages. New
Year’s is one holiday that just about
everyone around the w orld. W est
erners and Easterners, celebrate in
» m e fashion on some se, date.
Recorded history shows that for
more than 5,000 years people have
had some way o f recognizing the be
ginning o f a new year. In support o f
the time-honored concept o f annual
jus, on par, o f their numerous cal
rebirth or renewal, rituals and cele
endar reform s aimed at m aking
brations have been the order o f the
man's schedule agree with nature’s
day.
cycles. But it wasn’t u n til the
The day, however, has no, always
G regorian calendar, the same one
been observed on the first o f Jan
we use today, was instituted by
uary by many o f (he w o rld ’s na
Pope Gregory in 1582 that Jan. 1
tions. In fact, the new year has been
began to gain wide acceptance. The
launched on Christmas, Easter, the
d ay’ s pro xim ity ,o the w inter sol
autumnal equinox, the winter sol
stice, when the days begin to length
stice and March 25 (around the time
en, made it a logical beginning.
o f the vernal equinox). M arch 25
The rites o f New Year’s have long
seems to have been one o f ihe most
often celebrated dates because it was
helped people make through the
the time for sowing crops, the firs,
coming year in the best possible way
step in the annual agricultural cycle.
— whether it was winning ou, over
The Romans apparently were the evil, producing a good crop or
first, in 153 B .C ., to mark Jan. I as avoiding a death in the family.
the beginning o f the year. That was (Please turn to page 9 column I )