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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1963)
10 A WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 27. 1963 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON D.C. ScSoool IProfolem Likened to a Time Bomb Editor'! note: Thii ii th last of thru diipitchw en th racial tantieme, riling crima rait school dieordare. financial critaa and lack of (all goraramant which hava mada . Washington. D.C.. tha nation'! capital, a "eity in rroubla." Br LOUIS CASSELS Unitad Pratt Intarnational Washington - (UPli - Some months ago, the principal of a public high school in Wash ington uncovered a flourish ing racket. A tough young man of 17 was stealing the books of smaller boys, plac ing them in his locker, and making the victims pay 15 cents to ransom them. The principal turned the boy over to city authorities, expecting that he would be expelled and perhaps prose cuted for theft. The next day, the young racketeer was back in class, boasting he had "beat the rap" with nothing but a reprimand. Lax discipline in District of Columbia public schools is an old story to parents and teach ers. It became a public scan dal recently when a commit tee of prominent citizens pub lished the findings of an in quiry into the causes of an ugly riot which broke out last Thanksgiving Day after a high school championship football game. Lack of Control The citizens committee said the stadium riot was the out growth of a long-standing "lack of control over hoodlum elements in the school sys tem. "An atmosphere of 'permis siveness' has discouraged the personnel of many schools and caused a citywide lessen ing of disciplinary standards,' it reported. rear rapes through many school build ings which have become the tramping grounds for outside influences, including thugs, hoodlums and persons of the lowest character." The report shocked many Washington residents, includ ing President Kennedy. They got an additional shock this month when Dr. Carl F. Han sen, superintendent of schools, Ntl Dua to tha threat of i ttrika against tha Southern Pacific Railroad Company wo with to announce that this will In no way curtail tha operations of the PACIFIC MOTOR TRUCKING CO. Wa will con tinue to oparata and move all truck traffic axcept that portion that normally movet on Rail billing. J. H. Wryn, Tarmlnal Manager Pacific Motor Trucking Co. 202 South Front Street Modford, Oregon ' PACIFIC MOTOR TRUCKING CO. Medford, Oregon , Phone 773-8261 candidly acknowledged that the committee's findings were "borne out in general by com. mitmcnts of teachers" who responded to his own inquiry about disciplinary problems. Blamii Minority Hansen said that most of the trouble is being caused by a small minority of young sters - no more than 1 or 2 per cent - who disrupt classes and spread confusion. In the past, the schools have tried to find a place for every child, even the most incorrig ible, on the theory that it was better to keep them under the tutelage of a community ag ency than to turn them loose on the streets to get involved in crimes. Behind this pol icy was the realization that many of the troublesome youngsters had no real homes to be sent to, and no respon sible parents to guide them. The stadium riot and the in vestigations which followed it have convinced Hansen that Washington's public schools can no longer undertake the burden of "playing substitute for family upbringing." He has served notice on the com munity that the schools hence forth will expel chronic troublemakers, so that the vast majority of well-behaved children and their teachers can get on with the task of education. Offars Alternativt But Hansen offered the community an alternative. The schools will continue to wrestle with the delinquent youth problem, he said, if they are given the "proper equipment" for the task. He said this would include more counselors and social work ers, facilities for special class es for disruptive children, and separate schools for "extreme ly disturbed" children. Such facilities would cost a lot of money. And the U.S. Congress, which controls the municipal finances of the Dis trict of Columbia, has not been noted in the past for its lib erality toward the federal city and its school system. Last year it refused to authorize a $75 million borrowing which Hansen said was des perately needed to build new schools and relieve over crowding. Hop For Fulura But a new day may bo dawning. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) chairman of the Senate appropriations sub committee for the District of Columbia, predicted recently that his committee is going to be sympathetic" to requests for more money for Washing ton schools. Unlike any other city in the country, Washington cannot decide to expand its own school budget and raise taxes to cover it. The U.S. Congress determines what taxes shall be levied on District residents, and the lax money, once col lected, goes into the U.S. Treasury where it can be ap propriated tor District muni cipal operations only by act oi congress. The federal government, which occupies a large por tion of the land area of the District and is ita major em Dlover. Davs nn taypx what, ever, instead Congress votes an annual payment to the Dis trict, which is supposed to represent a fair federal share of municipal operating costs. This sum in recent years has been $30 million a year -about 13 per cent of the Dis trict s budget. Urges Nw Formula Last month. President K.n ncdy sent a special message to Conercss urrini? fhnt fha federal payment henceforth De rjasea on a formula reflect ing the actual taxes that the federal government have to pay if it were Just an ordinary Dusiness firm local ed in Washineton. Th for. mula would raise the ferinral payment to $53 million this year. Me warned that unless the federal government begins to carrv Its "nronrr chnra" of the District's financial bur aens, washineton will he nnu.. erlcss to cope with the "crit ical problems" confronting its schools, welfare services, po nce department and other public agencies. Sen. Alan Rihlp m.w IhC aCnate DlRtl-iff .ftVYimH. tce, has strongly endorsed the President's .nrnnnsal chair. man John L. McMillan, (D- b.t..) of the House District committee, has not said if he is for it or against it. Kcnncdv also rnitnrntpH his long-standing plea that Con gress let the District of Co lumbia's citizens ommrn tVicm. selves. There is virtually no prospect, however, that Wash ington residents will obtain self-Eovernment In the near future. Southern lawmakers, who exercise dominant influ ence on congressional commit tees dealing with District af fairs, are adamently opposed to nome rule for a city whose pooulation is 54 ner cent Negro. Chargt Indifierenca Negro leaders charge that racial statistics also arrnnnl for the "indifference" which many members of Congress seem to display toward Dis trict problems, especially the problems of the schools which nave an even greater propor tion or NeRrocs (85 per cent) than the general population. Spokesmen for the House District committee sav this charge is unfair, insofar s it mav be directed atrainst their committee. They say the record demonstrates the com mittee's concern for Washing. ton's welfare. They point out ill that connection that ehair- man McMillan has pushed through bills providing more than $42 million in federal grants for hospilal construc tion in Washington during the past decade - more than any other U.S. city has received. Without naming names, Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy said in an interview that "there have certainly been instances where it appeared that some members of Con. gress, with authority over District of Columbia affairs, have not been interested in seeing progress made here be cause of the large Negro pop ulation." In fact, he added, there may be some, in and out of Congress, who would like to be able to point to ashing ton as proof that Negroes and whites can't live and work together peacefully and con structively in a desegregated society. The attorney general said that was a very short-sighted attitude. Concern of All "Every American has a stake in making' Washington a model city and an example of good racial relationships, he saia. "It's bad enough for Amer ica's reputation abroad wh n racial incidents occur in Chi cago or New York or Oxford Miss. But any serious disturb ance of a racial nature in the nation's capital would be a most grievous setback to the whole United States." The young attorney general sat back reflectively for a moment, then leaned forward toward the reporter and said very gravely: "I think you should tell the people of the country that neglect, social unrest, inade quate community facilities and lack of opportunities for young people, especially Ne gro youth, have created a se rious situation in Washington. It is so bad it is a real time bomb. If it goes off, it will do untold harm. I think everyone, not just the people who live and work in Washington, ought to be very concerned about it. After all, this is their capital." Spending and Saving Plan Is Recommended New York -WPP- The family with a wise plan for spending and saving will have fewer fi nancial problems and enjoy greater peace of mind than the family without a plan, the American Bankers association reports. "Another certain thing is that those who save - even though they do so purely for reasons of self-interest - are contributing to the strength and progress of the economy," the association noted. ANTI-TELEPHONE POLE Hollywood-tUPII - A hapless motorist Tuesday painted this slogan on the neat, round dent in his front fender: "Help stamp out telephone poles." M Brand-New V-8! COSTS ONLY W $105 MORE IJTA 0 THAN THE 'J - CLASSIC 6 ... """Utlr! ljl"iVi Announcing New Rambler Classic 8 with superior performance and high economy m Advanced Unit Construction creates new solidity. Umside members replace many small parts. "Car of the Year" of fers 198 HP V-8 running mate to famed Classic 6. Try this for a surprise package. A brand-new V-8. 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A recent study of this national newspaper audience shows that it in cludes 80 percent of all men and women over 21 . . . and 72 per cent of all teen agers, age 15 and over. This huge and consistent readership can be depended upon by advertisers because the daily newspaper is a habit with most people . . . an established part of their everyday lives. For the national advertiser, this amounts to almost the total market for a ny product. For the local advertiser, this massive readership symbolizes the local reach of his own local newspaper - intq almost 9 out of 10 homes every day. No matter what the product or service an advertiser wants to sell, more people cm read about it in the pages of the daily newspaper. "Tha Doily Nawtpapar And h i Handing Public," Audits and Surviyi Co., Inc. AvVifWj rv'-k vs 31 sv 1 HPS "MS'-' Jf"4 A L.2 4 - -J. .. ... I Printed In the interest of more effective advertising by Medford Mail Tnbunt
