Plenty of Irritations Remain Among
AW ies, Despite General Berlin Accord
I Ptul Newsom
By PHIL NEWSOM
JUPI Foreign News Editor
Despite the honeyed words
cl the official communiques,
there remain plenty of irrita
tions and dif
f ere n c e s of
opini o n s
among the
Western
Allies on just
how to deal
with the Ber
lin question.
Fortunately,
on one signif-
leant detail
there is agreement: The West
fmust not be forced out of
Berlin, nor can it afford to
' sacrifice any of its rights
jthere as defined under the
potsdam and subsequent
agreements reached among
the Western powers and Rus
sia.
But after that, the diver
gencies are both wide and
deep.
British newspapers have ac
cused German Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer of under
mining Prime Minister Har
old Macmillan who has taken
a leading role in attempts to
find a basis for honorable
negotiations between East
and West.
British newspapers have
been equally caustic in their
criticism of some American
generals, including Gen
Lauris B. Norstad, Allied
commander in Europe.
The criticism springs from
Norstad's firmly stated posi
tion that there should be no
reduction in the North Atlan
tic Treaty's defensive powers
and no agreement reached
which would sacrifice its
maneuverability.
Among other Allied, includ
ing the French, there was
general disapproval of Mac
millan's trip to Moscow and
his private talks with Rus
sian Premier Nikita Krush
chev. Despite Macmillan's known
record cf having opposed ap
peasement of Hitler prior to
World War II, there remains
the suspicion that he would
not be above some appease
ment of Krushchev now.
The very enormity of the
tasks facing the foreign min
isters and the men at the sum
mit lends itself to bitter dis
agreement even among
friends.
For example, one proposal
would unify Berlin but would
retain four-power guarantees
and would, invite United Na
tions participation to see that
the guarantees were kept.
Such a proposal would mean
that the city administration
either of West Berlin or East
Berlin would have to be abol
ished. It may be considered cer
tain that neither administra
tion would thus invite politi
cal suicide.
Another proposal would
lead to the gradual withdraw
al of foreign troops in Cen
tral Europe, the area finally
to include Western sections
of the Soviet Union.
That idea is reminiscent of
the Polish plan of more than
a year ago for a neutralized
missile and atom -free belt
across Central Europe.
Military men scoff at the
idea of disengagement and
point out that it would take
modern missiles only a mat
ter of minutes to cross any
neutralized belt which might
be set up.
Further, they point out
that military maneuvering
space in Europe is limited
anyway and that any plan to
pull Allied forces back from
their present positions would
give all the advantages to the
Russians,
Finally, there is the ques-
Probate Judge Calls Attention
To Fairview Overcrowding
(Editor's note: The follow
lag article, written by Dis
trict Judge Paul A. Thal
hofer of Umatilla county,
calls attention lo what he
terms the state's "No. 1
problem concerning institu-tions"-the
overcrowding at
Fairview Home. It is printed
here slightly condensed.) -
I am the probate judge for
the County of Umatilla. I am
charged with committing men
4 tally retarded persons to r air
i view Home in Salem, the state
Institution for the mentally
deficient and retarded. I also
commit mentally ill persons
to Eastern Oregon State Hos
pital.
I would like to bring to the
1 attention of our people and
our legislators the magnitude
and the deplorable status of
Oregon's most pressing prob
lem Insofar as state institu-
tion are concerned the prob-
lem of the mentally retarded.
!I would like to bring to the
attention of our people and
our legislators the long wait
' lng list which confronts each
f mentally crippled person
4 (most of whom are children).
f each tragedy stricken family,
and each probate judge.
I During the past year, every
j time I committed one of these
I poor, unfortunate children to
I Fairview Home, I found it
painful experience to inform
the parents that it would take
approximately two years for
their child to work his or her
way up the lnS waiting 'list
Into the institution, wnen par
ents ask me why their child
must wait two years after
they have made the big deci
5nn to break un their fam
ily, I simply must tell them
that the State of Oregon has
never made adequate provi
tinn f nr the care and treat
ment of the mentally retarded
tspt are not satisfied with
this answer-Neither am I.
There are no waiting lists
of which I amaware at the
state hospitals. Many of our
retarded cases are more seri
ous and urgent than many of
our mentally ill cases. Yet,
these retarded persons must
wait two years before they
can be admitted. Why? What
is to be done with them while
they wait?
As of March 1, 1958, there
were 512 persons on the wait
Ins list for admission to Fair-
view Home. The 1957 Legisla
ture provided for 400 addi
tional beds and the new build-
in r which will house these
beds will be ready for occu
pancy soon. However, by the
time the last of these buildings
. is occupied late this summer
or early in the fall, the wait
ing list very probably wiu
number over zoo persons
This list, df course, will -con
tinue to grow and grow.
In their 1959-61 proposed
building program budget,
Fairview Home authorities
have requested 806 additional
beds. These officials estimate
that the 806 additional beds
will be needed between now
and January 1, 1963 .
The Fairview authorities
maintain that funds for these
additional beds should be re
quested from the 1959 Legis
lature so that construction
will be completed in the first
part of 1961. They contend
that if the 806 additional beds
are provided by the 1959 Leg
islature, there will be no wait
ing list between January 1,
1961 and January 1, 1963.
Experience has shown that
the process of final planning,
architect's drawings, bidding,
awarding the contract and the
construction of major build
infls reauiro at least 18 months
from the time funds are ap
propriated. However, it is distressing to
note that only 215 additional
beds have survived the econ
omy axe. If the present Leg
islature makes provision for
these 215 beds only, as is
now indicated, then there will
be a waiting list of approxi
mately 600 by January 1,
1963. It would take 2V2 years,
anyway, to climb to the top
of such a list. .
To make matters worse, at
the present time there are
some 300 retarded persons in
other state institutions. This
is not a good situation because
the other institutions, such as
state hospitals and correc
tional institutions, are not!
equipped in either facilities
or personnel to handle retard
ed persons.
In all fairness to the judges
who have committed retarded
persons to otner institutions,
it should be pointed out that,
in most cases they do so only
because the urgency of the
case requires immediate and
usually permanent custody
There are many urgent cases
on the waiting list now and
there will be more-ask any
probate judge.
The present Legislature has
in the hopper legislation
which, if passed, would pro
vide more facilities than pres
ently exist on the local level
for the education and rehabili
tation of the retarded. This
is highly desirable. However,
these facilities will not be the
custodial type living facilities
which are so badly needed
How about the many retard
ed children and some adults
who must be taken from their
homes for their own good and
for the good of their families?
How'about the pathetic little
children who will never be
able to adjust to a normal fam
ily life nor to a normal social
environment? How about the
retarded persons who must be
institutionalized for their own
protection and for the protec
tion of society? What in the
world are we going to do
about them?
It is up to the 1959 Legis
lature to face up to its respon
sibility to provide treatment
and care for these poor un
fortunate, but lobbyless, re
tarded persons. The legislators
should meet squarely and
come to grips with this, the
Number One problem among
our state institutions! They
should not allow this very
important matter to get lost
in the sea of political bicker
ing. The 1959 Legislature
should not adjourn until it
has made adequate provision
for the mentally retarded and
tnis means providing a lot
more than a mere 215 addi
tional beds! '
Of course, even if the Lee
islature provided for the 806
additional beds today, it
would be approximately 18
months before they would be
ready for occupancy. Why
woman t it be feasible then,
j r 1 1 .
as part ox uie over-ail pro
gram, to convert The Dalles
Tuberculosis Hospital into a
Fairview type institution?
In conclusion, I would like
to say that the plain intent
of this letter is to inform
the people of Oregon and
their legislators of the mag
nitude and urgency of Ore
gon's Number One problem
insofar as state institutions
are concerned and to suggest
possible solution.
Fairview Home has lone
been the forgotten child in
Oregon s family of state insti
tutions. However, I feel that
if the people of Oregon and
their legislators are fully in
formed as to this tremendous
problem concerning the men
tally retarded, they will de
mand and take the necessary
action to remedy this abso
lutely horrible situation!
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
Casual note from London
The 10-year-old Prince of
Wales (who if he lives and all
goes well will someday be
King of England) started his
spring holiday in bed at Wind
sor Castle, awaiting what doc
tors thought would be an offi
cial diagnosis of CHICKEN-
POX.
H'
MMMMMMMM.
Chickenpox is no respec-
tor of persons. Like the rain,
which falls alike on the just
and the unjust, it comes, to the
highest and it comes to the j
lowest. None are immune who 1
get a germ. Treat 'em all alike
is the motto of chickenpox.
I sometimes wonder if that
isn't the best way. When you
start coddling people, whether
at the top or the bottom,
your apt to be letting yourself
in for trouble.
TUMPING from chickenpox
to taxes, here are some in-1
teresting figures:
A worker who earns $4500
a year (about $80 a week) has
to labor one working day out
of three to pay his taxes.
This adds up to seven days out j
of every 22 working davs in
1 1 l i i 1 : I
a inuiiui just iu meei wa vuu-
gations.
The tax bite, compared with I
other monthly expenses of the
average worker with" a wife
and two children, goes some
thing like this:
Taxes 7 days
Food 4VS days
Housing ' 4 days
Clothing 2 days
Medical 1 day
Recreation 1 day
That adds up to 19V& days.
The other working days of the
month can be budgeted to life
savings, insurance policies and
such other incidentals.
1IHY are taxesjio high?
T Well, one reason is that
wars past, present (cold war)
and future (defense) cost a
lot of money.
Another reason is that in
these modern days govern
ment ciiy, county, siaie aua 1
national provides a lot of
SERVICES for us. These serv-:
taxes, and taxes nave 10 come
out of the pockets of the peo
ple. There isn't anywhere else
for them to come from.
THAT brings us around to
Oregon, whose legislature
is struggling with high wel
fare costs and a welfare fund
that is running into the red.
On that subject, Representa
tive George Annala, of Hood
River, made an interesting
statement the other day.
"Part of the welfare
trouble," he said, "lies in the
fact that Oregon is near the
top in the nation in all the
caegories of . public welfare,
but Oregon is NOT near the
top in average income."
Senator Neuberger says
Oregon individual incomes
average $1,914, which is 16th
down from the top among the
states. He adds that Oregon
needs more manufacturing
payrolls to bring up its aver
age individual income.
rpHAT brings us to one of the
-- most important problems
facing this session of the Ore
gon legislature:
How can we weep taxes in
Oregon LOW ENOUGH to
provide a tax climate that
will be ATTRACTIVE to the
new industries that we need?
tion of East Germany itself.
The ultimate objective of the
Russians is to gain inter
national recognition for a
permanently separate East
Germany. A first step is the
Khrushchev plan to turn air
and land controls over to the
East Germans, thereby forc
ing Western recognition.
Any sign of Western re
treat here is met by the deep
est suspicion both by the
Adenauer government and by
the West Berlin administra
tion of Mayor Willy Brandt.
It has been obvious the
United States approaches the
forthcoming foreign minis
ters' and summit conferences
both with suspicion and pes
simism. There seems only one ray
of hope. The questions of
Austria and Trieste at one
time also seemed insoluble,
but solutions were found.
Try and Stop Me
-By BENNETT CERF-
IT WAS SAID of the late Joe Frisco, beloved but irresponsible
night club entertainer, that he put at least 30 boys through
college all bookmakers' sons.
"Only t-t-time I think I , n MnPE
g-g-guu Uliuci poiu, lie ami- Jw
tered once, " is wnen 1 near
what they g-g-give Gary
Cooper. A g-g-grand a
day. for just saying 'Yup'
and 'Nope!' Think what he'd
m-m-make if he'd only say
'L-l-lemme think it over!' "
A fine symphony orchestra,
subsidized for a transcontinen
tal tour, played in an Arkan
sas town, thereby giving the
natives a big-time cultural ex
perience. Next day the town
elders gathered 'round a
cracker barrel in their favorite grocery to talk over the concert
Squire Abernathy's comment was the most noteworthy. "All I got
to say," he declared, "is they brung that big bass drum a powerful
long ways just to bang it wunst."
1959. by Bennett Cert. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Fire.Weafher
Forecasting Eyed
Portland - (DPD - Plans for
long-range fire weather fore
casting are being worked
upon by the weather bureau.
Francis Beere, Oregon fire
weather forecaster, is in
Washington, D.C., serving as
a practical field consultant in
the study. John Hunt,, fire
control officer for the Bureau
of Land Management, said
such forecasting would be
"one of the most important
things the weather bureau
could do for Oregon."
At present the bureau pro
vides only 24-hour forecasts
on relative humidity, temper
ature and wind data during
the fire season. Existing five
day outlooks give trends, but
do not specify day-by-day fire
weather.
ACTRESS DIES
New York - (UPD Rosalind
Ivan, 75, English-born stage
and film actress, died Monday.
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Tuesday, April 7, 195t S
TOO MANY CROWDS
Lisbon .Portugal -(UPD- One
of the conditions of conces
sions granted Monday for
sidewalk cafes near busy Res
tauradores Square was that
there be no television.
UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS
London -(UPD- The Ministry
of Labor announced today
that unemployment dropped
by 58,000 persons in Britain
during the period between
Feb. 9 and March 9.
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FRIDEN AGENCY
8th & Grape, Medford Phone SP 2-4100
T
PA'Holmes
INSURANCE yS
WjENGY
SINCE 1909
Nothing
But
Insurance
for
50 Years!
R. A. Holmes, founder
The R. A. Holmes -Insurance Agency
ATODIL 1909 --APRIL
3L 959
""""
We plan an exhibit of the old and
the new in the insurance business. '
Remember, we are
"Old, But M
Old Fashioned!"
Grace and I
invite you to our
w
in
UiSDM,April9J:3Q to 430 p.m.
South Central Avenue