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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1960)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE IS. 1BB MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, ORE. A 5 Overcrowded Conditions Cited in Deaths At Wisconsin's Home for Mentally III Editor's notet Wisconsin Author ities dlicloicd recently that In the Salt two years, a baclllua-cauird liease, thlrella dysentery, had rased ihrouih the state's Southern Colony ana Training School at Union Grove, Wis., and had been the primary or aeeondary came or halt ol the 101 death! at the Insti tution In the past li monthi. To find what lay behind this death rate. United Press International sent a reporter to the colony. Here la erhat ho found. By JAMES S. BROOKS Union Grove, Wi. - (UPD -In Wisconsin's Southern Col ony and Training School, built tor 1,124 patients, there are almost 1,600. More than 900 of these must be fed from spoons three times i day. They must be fitted with diapers. Someone must be at hand always to see they do not hurt themselves or others. These are the mentally re tarded, the charges of the state of Wisconsin. And Wisconsin's problems with them, and record in car ing for them, is little differ ent from those of the 49 other states of the union. In fact, the attention and the concern shown in this state probably are far greater than in some. This was why, after the Memorial Day week end reve lations of death and suffering from bacillus-borne disease at the Southern Colony, that Supt, John M, Garstecki got letters. Letters of Sympathy "Institution superintendents from all over the country have written sympathizing with what has happened," he told United Press Internation al. "They all say they have experienced or are experienc ing the same thing." During that week end, Gov. Gaylord Nelson in a speech mentioned illness among pa tients at the colony. The UPI found that at various times in the past two years shigella dysentery had raged through the colony, causing 1,500 to 1,800 cases of the bacillary disease, and Garstecki esti mated it had been primary or secondary cause of half of the 108 deaths in the institution In the previous 24 months, In these days when almost daily newspapers tell of tome new advance in science against age old problems of disease and Its treatment, how can these things be? It is not for lack of effort not here, at any rate. Hope for Patient Frederlcka Bardwell chief psychologist, reported to the Board of Public Welfare this year. "Today, there is hope for these people and we have made wonderful progress-it's Just that we have so much farther to go," she said, and to emphasize, she called the colony in 1947: "There was a prevailing tone of sobriety and quietude interrupted occasionally by the raucous screeches or verb al barrages of patients. Be neath the apparent ca!m there was a rampant sense of appre hension and intrigue . . . those were the days when patients, who had no program and did not participate in institutional upkeep, produced a motley sight, seated or tied to bench es which were lined against the walls and, if nothing else, they learned to be silent when silence was demanded." But . . . -The budget allows for 28 nurses. Only 21 can be found to hold the lobs, and Gar stecki believed 75 are needed. -A nursery that contains "a whole constellation of medi cal rarities" houses 31 chil dren where there should be only 20. How do you prevent disease in this situation? Suffer Staff Shortage -There are five staff posi tions for doctors, and a salary for an inexperienced medical school graduate amounts to more than $10,000 annually for a job with a 40-hour week. According to Dr. Louis J. Ptacek. the colony's medical director, the works "lacks prestige and too many young doctors feel it is the failures in private practice who turn to institutional worn. -In the wards designed for the most severely handicap ped there are 130 patienti where there should be only 108. Some need cribs, be cause they will fall out of beds without sides. The cribs are inches instead of feet apart. The recreational area is used as a dormitory. And Garstecki recalled that basic medical test told of shigella dysentery as a di sease "common in concentra tion camps, army barracks and overcrowded mental in stitutions." Lifespan Increases The number or patients, and the type, combine to cause such outbreaks as the one which turned attention here. Before the discovery of anti biotics and the "wonder drugs," the life span of a de ficient child who also was suf fering from physical impair ment was brief. Many died in infancy, others did not last beyond their juvenile years. Today, there are "children at Southern Colony who were born 80 years ago. The aver age age of the patients is 15. Many are far into their 30s and 40s. "Today," said Mrs. Bard well, "the patients are arriv ing at a younger age, many of them with multiple handi and most of them with handi caps and most of them with handicaps that are more se vere than they ever were be fore. They are mentally re tarded and additionally are suffering from physical and mental sicknesses in many cases." Wisconsin has spent $10 million on development of fa cilities here in the past 10 years. The current $3,500,- Quotes From the News BY UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL Manila President Eisenhower, addressing a Joint ses sion of the Philippine Congress:' "The basic antagonism of the Communist system to any. thing that It cannot control is the single, most Important eauto of tensions between free nations ... and . the rigidly controlled Communist bloc." Des Moines. Iowa State Safety Education Director Wil liam Burnett, stating it's all right for men to glance at a pretty girl while driving so long as they don't stare too long: "A good driver keeps his eyes moving, glancing quickly Tight and left as well as looking straight ahead. If your glance happens to catch a pretty girl walking along the street, how can you help it? Miami An Eastern Airlines spokesman describing the airline's efforts to telephone pilots and tell them they will be violating a federal court order unless- they end their walkout: "At some places we got no answer. A few places members of the family answered and said they didn't know where the pilots were. 1 , i ' .- 1 1 , : J nHl.D., T Moletn jnonywoou noney-oiunue uumcuxicu aibiaa wv. explaining why she hasn't been whisked away by a hand- . . ....... , t -l Trill- - ... some leaaing man witn a mansion in ueveu mua, a apuno vmi uiiu a smau raiiuneiu; "I don't like actors." Timeless trim fit! Styles come and go, but men of action still prefer the century-old slim fit of LEVI'S the original blue jeans. And LEVI'S not only fit better they wear belter, too . . . for they're cut from XX denim -the world's heaviest-and reinforced with Copper Rivets! AMERICA'S FINEST OVERALL Since 18S0 On we see aoctr. tpt lot It Tit en Wi fuineim uilcnttntign 6fM Ma4 LtW M 000 budget breaks down Into a per capita expenditure of $190 per patient per month. The retarded still are not re ceiving adequate treatment. Need Equipment, Buildings "The institutions in Amer ica are doing the best they can with what they have to work with," said Garstecki. "But they don't get the atten tion they need. Every institu tion wants to do a good Job and they have staffs vitally interested in their work. They can do a good job if they have the staff, the equipment and the buildings they have to have. It all boils down to one question: give us the money and we'll do the job." "The job" is one to frighten any but the dedicated souls who work in places like Union Grove. . Some ask the inevitable question: why keep these chil dren alive? "Well, not only because they are human beings and therefore deserve such care, but because of what medical science may do for them in the future," said Garstecki. "We are just waking up to the problems of the retarded. We're making progress, but we're still many years behind the times. How do we know what medical research will uncover in the next 10 years? How do we know how many of these children will have a chance to live full lives?" "Would you be willing to serve on a board to decide who lives and who dies?" 11 If Space Surplus Seen In Welfare Move Salem - (UPD - Unless the State Public Welfare Com- mission is moved from Port land to Salem the state will have a surplus of space in the capital mall, the Oregon Statesman said today. A page one story said that this accounted for "apparent ly a good part of the urgency for Gov. Mam o. Hauieia s controversial order" for the move. The story stated that Fi nance Director Freeman Hol- mer "says frankly that with out bringing a major agency, such as welfare, to Salem, the state would have a lot ol un used office space here." 104 State School Districts Dissolved Salem-flJPD-Since August of 1957, 104 of the state's 708 school districts have been dis solved by consolidations and annexations. The Board of Education heard this progress report from the Oregon Department of Education. Reorganization of school districts was ordered by the 1957 Legislature. The consolidation is being worked on by county commit tees and the 104 consolida tions were accomplished by 24 of Oregon's 36 counties, In their place, 47 new ad ministrative school districts in 19 counties have been cre ated and as of May 31 this year, Oregon had 639 school districts. Gluckmann Case Remains Mystery San Francisco-fUPD-The dis appearance of aviator Feter Gluckmann over the Pacific seven weeks ago today re mained a mystery and the U. S. Coast Guard said it Is without further clues. Gluckmann, who vanished while attempting a non-stop flight from Tokyo to New York, was last heard from April 27 by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel between Tokyo and Midway Island. 4-H NEWS Wostildo Rabbitteers The June 4 meeting was called to order by Treasurer Laurene .Kellow in the ab sence of the president and vice president Flag salutes were given. Minutes were read and ap proved. Under committee re ports, the fair equipment com mittee reported. A committee was appointed to check at the stores to see if we may use their stores for our cake and flower sales. Nine members were pres ent. We had a record book check. All record books were up to date. After the meeting we had a Judging contest. The meeting was adjourned to refreshments. The meeting was at Dwight Harshes. Our next meeting will be at Susan and Mary Louise T r u 1 y house. Karen Alldridge, Reporter, Antelope Livestock Club The monthly meeting of the Antelope 4-H Livestock club was held June 10 at the home of Don Geren. The dairy club was in charge of the meeting. We judged two classes of dairy animals and reasons were given on the classes by different members and Earle Jossy. The livestock club donated $100 toward the construction of the Eagle Point Commun ity club, and gave two $50 scholarships for 4-H Summer school. The annual club picnic will be held July 24 at 1 p.m. In Lithia park. We will go swim ming it Twin Plunges after ward. Everyone is to bring a potluck dinner. The next meeting will be held July 8 at 7 p.m. There will be sheep judging. Georgia Hubbard, Reporter Laraine Day Wins Divorce in Mexico Juarez, Mexico - (UPD - Ac tress Laraine Day, 39, won a Mexican divorce from Leo Durocher Tuesday, and a few minutes later her brother di vorced his wife in the same court. Lamar Johnson, Miss Day's brother, is a California busi nessman. He divorced Hope Audrey Welnak Johnson of Victorville, Calif. Both sued on grounds of incompatibility of character. Durocher did not appear in court. It was Miss Day's second Mexican divorce. She di vorced Ray Hendricks, a Los Angeles airport manager, in Juarez in 1947. a. . IV otwJt. - ' - aVt. v "T.i I SI ' Satatf i.4 1 5 . - -vrh- lasMllii I ml PI 1" Hi SERVICE Shown being presented with the "Service Under Fire" award is Kip Thomas, 12-year-old son of Mr, and Mrs, Harold (Red) Thomas, 170 Shennun st. Ashland. The award, presented by Dale Prentice representing the Juekson County committee of the Keep Oregon Green association, was pr- sented to Young Thomas for service during the Ashland forest fire last summer. He was with his father along the fire line on several occasions and helped suppress hot spots with shovel, hazel hoe or one inch hose. KOG officials report that well over 1,200 Jackson county boys and girls are members of the fire prevention program.-tKnackstedt Photo) Algeria May Reject Offer by de Gaulle Paris - (UPD - Sources close to the Algerian rebel high command indicated today it would reject as inadequate President Charles de Gaulle's latest offer to negotiate a cease fire. De Gaulle made the offer last night in a new bid to end the five-year-old Algerian war. He announced he has or dered formation of commit tees representing both Eu ropean settlers and Algerian Moslems to draw up recom mendations for the North African territory's future. U.S.-Japan Treaty Ratification Near Washington-iUPIi-Sonatc ma chinery was geared today to ratify within the next few days the U.S.-Jupanese de fense treaty which has be come a potentially explosive diplomatic time bomb In Pres ident Eisenhower's visit to the one-time enemy country. Semite Foreign Relations Committee Chairman William Fulbright (D-Ark.) announced he hoped to call the pact up for Senate approval Thurs day. He said lie foresaw no opposition to it. This could mean that the treaty would be ratified by the Senate before Eisenhow er's Sunday arrival in Tokyo where the President faces the possibility of dangerous, anti Americans and others who op pose the pact. Beck Conviction Allowed To Stand 01ympia-(UPI)-The State Su preme Court decided Tuesday to let former Teamster presi dent Dave Beck's grand lar ceny conviction stand. An order issued by Chief Justice Frank P. Weaver said the majority of the court had voted to adhere to an earlier ruling. However, the court was evenly divided once again on Beck's appeal. The vote was 4-4, with Judge Harry Ellsworth Fos ter, a one-time attorney for the Teamsers Union, disqual ifying himself. Runaway Balloon Heads for Hawaii San Diego, Calif.- IUPD -The Navy's runaway balloon -launched 10 days ago in Georgia - appears headed for Hawaii today. The 40-story plastic bag was caught in westerly winds of about 10 knots which at last report had taken it more than 1,400 milos out over the Pacific, It was about 50,000 feet high. Dangling from the huge balloon was a two-ton gondola loaded with scientific instru ments to sample cosmic ray activity. Navy spokesmen said the data collected by the in struments should be invalu able because of the unexpect ed length of time of the flight. CHICKENS STAMPEDED Ridley, England - OIPIl - Far mer Alfred Woods says a jet flew over his farm and stam peded 900 chickens Into the corner of a shed where 200 pullets were trampled to death. He asked police to find out which jet it was so he can sue for his dead chickens which he valued at $404. 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