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
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motorist Tuesday painted this
slogan on the neat, round dent
in his front fender: "Help
stamp out telephone poles."
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