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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1956)
0 Chamber Directors Approve Vote on Fluoridation; Decide to Ask Council for Election in November O The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce board of directors yesterday went on record as ap proving a public ballot in Med ford on the question of adding fluorides to the Medford water supply. At a luncheon meeting, the board voted to ask the city council to submit the proposal to a vote of the people at the general election next November. It did so after receiving and filing with approval a report on the matter, prepared by a special committee appointed to make a study of the proposal. Feeling of Members The board did not express it self one way or the other with regard to the merits of fluorida tion, members feeling that it could not speak with authority for its members on a subject which has been engaged in con troversy. But, as a proposal af fecting the welfare of the citizens of the city, it was indicated that residents should have an op portunity to vote on it. O In accepting the report, it ask ed that the report, which was favorable to the addition of fluorides to the water as a mea sure for the control of dental cavities, be studied by its mem bers, and requested, that it be published in the press.- Text of the report follows: TO: The Board of Directors, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. Your special committee ap pointed to conduct a study of the proposal to add controlled amounts of sodium fluoride to the water supply of Jackson county municipalities, respect fully makes the following re ft port: I ope Limited jf The scope of our study was necessarily limited. The mem bers are not "technically quali fied to present a scientific re port, and were thus forced to rely on secondary, rather than primary, sources. However, a vast amount of material on the subject is avail able, and much of it was scrut inized and evaluated. Sources consulted include the following: 1. Report of the Committee of the St. Louis Medical So ciety on Water Fluoridation, as published in the February, issue of Missouri Medicine. This report is an exhaustive, 14-page study conducted by three medical doctors, which goes into great detail as to the various aspects of the proposal. 2. Report on , the Fluoridation of the Public Water Supply, made to the board of gov ernors o the Portland City Club, by a distinguished com mittee of six Portland men. This ois another exhaustive study and report on the pro posal, thoroughly document ed. Membership of the com- mittee was Dr. Arthur Scott, head of the Department of Chemistry, Reed college; Dr. Frank B. Queen, professor of pathology, University of Ore gon medical school; Dr. Guy A. Woods Sr., dentist; Mr. R. Franklin Hart, pharmacist, E. R. Squibb and son; Mr. R F. Merry, attorney; and . Mr. John C. Beatty Jr., at torney. The study was con ducted over a period of two years, and the committee called a large number of competent witnesses as well as consulting with the ex tensive chemical, medical and dental literature devoted to to the subject. Revival To Open At Temple Baptist The Rev. S. W. Hale, Albany, Ore., will speak Sunday, March 25 at services at Temple Baptist church, which will begin a ser ies of revival services. The meetings will consist of two daily services, 10 a.m. and 7;30 p.m., and will continue until April 8. ' Four special services also are slated during the revival. They will open next Sunday evening, which will be "men's night" and a mens' choir will be featured. In the evening on Easter Sunday will be a "womens' night"; Fri day, April 6 will be "young peo ple's night," and Sunday eve ning, April 8 will be "boys and girls' night." The Rev. Mr. Hale has been a pastor in New Mexico and California and has been at Al bany for the past several months. CEYLON ASKS FUNDS Colombo, Ceylon (U.R) Ceylon has asked the United States for $1,000,000 to improve the runway at Ratmalana air port, it was disclosed today. The reconstruction would be paid for out of a $5,252,000 fund al located by the United States for Ceylon assistance. TO TAKI? BRIDE'S NAME Los Angeles (U.R) Lloyd Allen Peterson, 55, asked Super ior Court to change his surname to Evans, the same as that of his bridto-be, so she can carry on her social and business activities after they are married. Digest of Opinion 3. Digest of Opinions on Fluorid ation, compiled by the Health League of Canada. This listed universities, preventive med icine departments, public health officials and other groups and gave their opin ions, and their reasons for them, as to the proposal to fluoridate municipal water supplies. 4. Fluoridation Facts, published by the Council of Dental Health of the American Dent al Association, in answer to criticisms of fluoridation. This is a 21-page pamphlet of brief but thoroughly - documented facts presented in opposition to claims and allegations of opponents to fluoridation. A quantity of other materials was reviewed by" your commit tee, but it feels reference to these four sources is sufficient for the purpose at hand. Copies of each are available to any members of the board desiring to inspect them. It is strongly urged that any member having any questions concerning the matter take the time to do so. Six Allegations These four sources are docu ments which, in summation, fav or the fluoridation of water supplies. The fact remains that in each the objections put forth by those opposed to fluoridation are set forth in detail. These resolve themselves to six prin cipal allegations, as follows: 1. Fluorides are poison, which accumulate in the bones; they may cause cancer, nephritis, heart disease, and a dozen other ailments. 2. They do no good, in cutting down on dental carries. 3. They are unconstitutional, because they violate religious liberty and civil rights. 4. Substitutes are available, so that no good purpose is serv ed by fluoridating the water. Economically Wasteful 5. It is economically wasteful, because only a small percent age of the treated water is ' used for drinking or cooking. 6. The key to good dental health is proper diet, 'and that fluo ridation, even if effective, is only a stop-gap measure. There is a measure of truth in each of these, which has given some weight to the argu ments by those who have had no opportunity to look further in to the matter. They should be answered as briefly as possible, point by point. 1. Fluorides, undiluted or in fairly concentrated mixtures, are poisonous. So are most of the trace minerals found necessary to human life. But in the tiny portions in which they are assimilated by the body, they are not only non poisonous but beneficial. So " too with fluorides. A vast body of scientific literature attests to the safety of the procedure. Not one case of any disease has ever been connected with the proper fluoridation of municipal water. Suggestions to the contrary are pure speculation. Carries Reduced 2. Extensive, long-range experi ments in controlled situations, both where controlled amounts of fluorides are ad ded to the water, and where water is naturally fluoridat ed in amounts far in excess of the recommended dosages, have proven conclusively that dental caries in children are decreased by percentages varying up to 70 per cent. The benefits remain through- Russian Veterans To Visit America London (U.R) A group of Soviet veterans has accepted an invitation from Americans they met in Germany in 1945 to visit the United States, Moscow Radio said today. A Moscow broadcast moni tored here said the "Soviet Com mittee of the Elbe," an organi zation of veterans of the historic meeting with American troops in the heart of Hitler's Germany, will return the visit to the USSR made by their American counter parts last year. HE SHOULD GET 'EM Martinez, Calif. (U.R) Mrs. Janice Gilkey, 20-year-old bride of one year, was granted a di vorce Thursday when she com plained to Judge Harold Jacoby that her husband kept the house full of pet lizards, snakes and frogs. Jacoby granted the hus band, Douglas, 26, custody the ' pets. of Dead line for Sunday Classified is at noon Saturday. f MARKET av norm m Teniae OPEN EVERY NIGHT TIL : .MIDNIGHT hi out life. This is no longer successfully denied by op ponents. 3. The Supreme Court of Ore gon recently ruled, unanim ously, that fluoridation is constitutoinal, and does not violate religious or civil rights. The same verdict has resulted in all court cases in point but one, and it was overruled in an appeal. 4. Substitutes has not been prov en effective. Even if they were it stands to reason that those with the greatest need for them would be the ones least likely to take advantage of them. Dental disease, a major health problem, is also a major economic problem .affecting the entire commun ity, and is a reduction in" its incidence would have a bene o o o o o Pep ficial effect on everyonein the long run. Minimal Cost 5. Much of the fluorides added to water do, indeed, go to " waste. But the cost is so minimal and the benefits so . great, that this Is a minor consideration. 6. Diet is one of the keys to dental, as well as other types, of health. Dental authorities list four measures for dental disease control, proper diet, tooth brushing, adequate dent al care, and addition of fluo rides to water. Each is im portant. Diet alone is not the answer, particularly when it is considered that a minority of the citizens hav the know ledge or motivation to eat a scientifically chosen and completely beneficial diet. IT'S BIG! IT'S SENSATIONAL! IT'S EDUCATIONAL! ft IT'S FUN! IT'S FASCI N ATI IT'S F - n - E AMAZING EXHIBITS IN HUGE SUPER FUTURLINERS PLUS BIG SCIENCl STAGE SHOW-UNDER THE SILVER AERODOME -GREATEST SCIENTIFIC EXPOSITION EVER PUT ON WHEELS! ... a Rang Saturday, March 24 - In summary, we paraphrase from the finding of the Portland City Club study. Fluoridation of water supplies as a public health measure has been probably as thoroughly in vestigated as any public health measure ever proposed. It has been proven to be a safe and economic way of cutting the in cidence of dental caries by at least one-half. No competent evidence is available to con tradict these findings. The cost is relatively low for the bene fits derived. Fluoridation is not a substitute for dental care, but does achieve a substantial re duction in caries unobtainable by other means. Respectfully submitted Ray Johnson George Flanagan , Eric Allen, Jr. - E! 7 to 10 P.M. I Friday, March 23, 1956 County Appraisers Attend SOC Course Five men from Jackson coun ty are among the 120 county and deputy county tax appraisers from Oregon and Washington attending a five-day appraisal short course this week at Ore gon State college. Attending from here are Thad W. Hatten, Carl W. Miller, W. B. McCulloch, John F. O'Hara and Stewart Pennington. The course, which ends March 23, is designed to bring ap praisers abreast of latest devel opments in property tax ap praisal work. Subjects empha size methods of appraising va rious types of Oregon property for tax purposes. Oregon State college staff members and representatives of the Oregon state tax commis sion provide the instruction. ! : - ' . N.G! . - iC,' $ . ... j ;'.'' ' - - 3 ..... J 0 BRING YOURSELF. BRING YOUR FAMILY... BRING YOUR FRIENDS Not an Automobile Show Nothing to Buy Everything to See ADMISSION FREE park O March 25 CANDIDATES TOO YOUNG Des Moines, la. (U.R) The Iowa Attorney General's office told George Pettengill, 20, Thursday that he could not run for the Iowa Legislature because he won't be 21 years old before the closing date for filing his candidacy. Fl I 1 NE W LOCATION n p KIRBY CO. HAS MOVED TO . . . 225 NO. RIVERSIDE formerly at 115 North Oakdale New and Used Vacuum Sales, Repairs All Makes PHONE 2-8821 s thru 27- 2 to 10 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNS SEVE URUGUAY GETS LOAN Montevideo, Uruguay (U.R) A group of American banks have negotiated a $30,000,000 loan to Uruguay, it was announced Thursday. A delegation headed by Alfred Vinton, vice president of the First National City Bank of New York, arranged the loan. P.M.
