MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MLDrOhD. OREGON
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13. 1SI3
B 5
Alcoholics Decome involved in Imrterstafce Commeiree
By ROBERT BUCKHRON
United Press International
Washington - (UPB - A fight
ing priest whose job is reform
ing alcoholics says the govern
ment has told him to keep his
drunks out of interstate com
merce or sober them up under
the federal minimum wage
law.
The priest is Msgr. William
N. Wall, who heads the Mount
Carmel Center and Hospital
for Alcoholics in Paterson,
N.J.
His charge against the gov
ernment: It's guilty of a "re
actionary, nonsensical a 1 1 i -tude
that will assure this na
tion of a, skid row in every
city from New York's Bowery
to San Francisco's Market
street."
The government's answer:
The law is the law, and must
be enforced.
The Monsignor's rebuttal:
This is "totally Caesar's law,
and none of God's law. This
is bureaucracy at its worst . . .
I cannot, on moral grounds,
have any part of it." '
The thing that brought on
the collision was the minimum
wage law and its application
to the Monsignor's home for
alcoholics.
Simply put, the Labor de
partment said the Monsignor
must pay his alcoholics the
$1.15 minimum wage if this
work brings them into inter
state commerce.
If he does not, the Labor
department said, he may,
since his alcoholic center falls
in a special category, accept
a designation as a "sheltered
work shop for handicapped
people." This would exempt
him from the provisions of
the wage law.
The Monsignor told UPI he
couldn't accept either choice.
"The first one could very well
put me out of the business of
rehabilitating alcoholics," he
said in an Interview. "The
center couldn't afford it."
And in a letter to the Labor
department, he said he might
be forced "to call in the city,
county and state relief people
and enroll every last one of
these alcoholics. This way,
they can get relief, but no
work; they can get money but
no sobriety; they can get food
and booze, but not God's
grace."
The Monsignor's objection
to the department's second
choice is both moral and
medical. He said his center
is not a shelter, nor are the
a 1 c o holies handicapped. He
added:
"Jails are shelters, mental
institutions are shelters, flop
houses are shelters . . . alco
holics need not shelter, but
hope: not shelter, but compas
sion; not shelter, but love and
understanding."
As for an alcoholic being
handicapped, the Monsignor
says it isn't so. Sick, yes,
handicapped, no. This desig
nation "may be expedient and
a d ministratively efficient -but
it is guaranteed to main
tain the role of the social out
cast for addicted alcoholics,"
he declared.
What triggered the dispute
between the clergyman and
what he terms the case of
"Charity Versus the United
States," was a contract to de
liver rags to a New York City
firm.
Rag-picking is one of the
main sourws of income for
the alcoholic center, but in
reselling the rags out of state,
the Labor department said,
i They'll Do It Every Time -- By Jimmy Hatlo
! " f HOW LONG DOES ) ( I TOLD HIM A " S
! r ' this go on? i didn't have uf he took
I THANKSDOM'TL f' HE SWORE OFF MO - SAlD I MNE AND MV A
?T MIND IF I TAKE X THREE MONTHS AGO.' I HE'D WALK ME OUT BOOK OF )
I TWO? THAT'LL HOLD MEU HE'S BEEN MOOCHINo TO THE CIGARETTE J I MATCHES
UNTIL NOONTHE DOC NBOuT A PACK A S MACHINE- V. '
TOLD ME TO CUT 'EM OUT ( DAV FROM ME - --"V 'tf Z
AND I AM I AM-I DON'T 1 V EVER SNCE Jf Auat'c
BUY ANV- BUT YOU KNOW I -I'LL SAV HE f I If VVU V I
HOW IT IS- CAN'T OIVE rTUl I NEVER BUYS-HE'S It" I VVCNT RATK
'EM UP ALL AT ONCE--in FV TIGHTER THAN THE M jStUE Pipe
S-- I N r ME WAS I
ftty ofrSNmcocOUT mE
Small Worlds
Around Us
By LYNN M. WATKINS
(Register and Tribune
Syndicate. ".94 J)
Poisoned Insects Spelled
End for Hungry Birds
Because natural fooJ in the
form of worms, insects and
their eggs were difficult to
find and in short supply, she
wouldn't eat one herself. In
stead she fed them all to her
hungry youngsters; she sub
iisted solely on weed seeds,
and an occasional handout of
trackers or bread, dropped on
the ground by some kind
hearted householder.
In spite of constant care and
diligent feeding, her first
brood of the summer sickened
and died. One by one the anx
ious bird mother pulled the
little bodies from the nest
and dropped them over the
side. When the last one was
gone, she rested a little while,
then selected another nesting
site and begin again. She im
proved a little in the con
struction oi tnis nesi, n. na
a more solid support, was
better protected from the ele
ments and seemingly safer.
She laid and incubated the.
eggs.
Hungry for Food
Three gawky, naked birds
broke out into the world
and opened their pink-lined
mouths with impatient anti
cipation, hungry for food.
Again began the frantic search
for worms, insects and in
sect eggs, sufficient to fill
those three hungry mouths
and gaping throats. Both par-
ent birds, neglecting their
own appetites, struggled to
supply food to the gawky
youngsters.
Worms, and plenty of in
pct food was the way it was
intended to be, and every
bird - parent, with patience
and dawn-to-dark persever
anno cm 10 ht the wherewithal
to feed their family. In the
original and overall plan h
was arranged that baby birds
and the hatching and abund
ance of insect food should
' Parent birds, to survive
themselves and to feed their
vrtimn tirprp one of the natural
agencies to hold the insect
nomiiatinn within reasonable
limits. Given a chance, they
would have succeeded; but a
dark shadow cast its ominous
form over the land.
Touched Baby Birds
That shadow touched those
.in it hahv hirds: one after
another they died; each in
turn was cast from me nesi,
and the worried parent birds
tratert all their atten
tions to develop pin feathers.
Mr. and Mrs. Bird must have
been encouraged, they would
have been justified in be
lieving they would succeed
in raising at least one baby
bird to adulthood.
These parent birds, living
as they necessarily must in a
world of men, many of which
recognize no rights except
their own, had no way of
knowing that the worms and
insects they were feeding their
children, were poisoned with
chemical insecticides.
Even when the last little
survivor in the nest laid
down his head, and was still,
and refused to respond when
another lethal worm was of
fered it, those trusting parents
birds could not know where
the trouble was; they could
never understand that man's
inhumanity to man is of noth
ing when compared to his in
humanity to creatures lesser
than himself.
Two Accidents Are
Reported To Police
Two vehicle accidents were
investigated by Medford po
lice late Tuesday. Two cita
tions were issued, but no one
was reported injured.
At 5:30 p.m. near the inter
section of Main and Kenwood
sts., a vehile operated by
James Robert McCormack, 21,
of 903 South Third St., Jack
sonville, hit a pickup truck
operated by Marion Ray Hull,
37, of 345 Hanley rd.. Central
Point, which was forced into
a sedan attempting to turn
left. The third vehicle did not
remain at the scene, police
said. McCormack was cited
by police for violation of the
basic rule.
In the second accident
about 6 p.m., vehicles operat
ed by Kelly Burns Caskey,
Longview, Wash., and Herman
Weston Pearson, 245 Windsor
ave., collied on Willamette
ave. between Ninth and Tenth
sts., according to police. Cas
key was cited for failing to
yield right of way, police
said.
Less than 2 per cent of nor
ma 1 children have crossed
eyes.
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selor and assistant Vice President of
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Try and Stop Me
By BENNETT CERF-
ONE DAY William Jennings Bryan was posing for his
portrait to be presented to his wife on their thirtieth
wedding anniversary. The artist suggested that Mr. Bryan
nave his hair cut before
he posed. "No sir," was
the answer. "When I was
courting Mrs. Bryan, she
complained that my ears
stuck out, so I let my
hair grow this long pur
posely to cover them. She
was very pleased, too."
"But Mr. Bryan, protest
ed the artist, "that was
over thirty years ago."
"So it was," agreed Bry
an. "But the romance is
still going on!"
Touring army bases one Christmas season, a famous TV come
dian found himself in South Korea, with an audience composed
largely of native soldiers who didn't understand a word of Eng
lish. Fortunately, a Korean major volunteered to translate the
comedian's monologue.
The performance was a riotous success. When he left the
stage, the comedian admitted, "That old routine of mine never
got half that many laughs before. Thanks for your wonderful
translating job."
The major registered acute embarrassment "You talked so
fast," he admitted, "that I lost you completely after jour first
three sentences. I was telling the boys a few stories of my own."
A fakir in Delhi cried out, "I've discovered two sacks of brand
new nails." "Hurrah," cheered an even bigger fakir nearby.
"Let's have a pillow fight."'
C 1963, by Bennett Cert. Distributed by Kins Feature Syndicate
8-IS O
TO:
lOMMONWEALTH
200 Equitable Bldg., Portland 4, Oregon
Send complete information about j
Commonwealth Bonds. j
d Have Mr. Clement call me for appointment, j
NAME
ADDRESS-CITY
the Monsignor's business fell
under interstate com m e r c e.
Hence, he must pay his 30
pickers the minimum wage.
Bated on Progress
Each of the 92 men cur
rently in the center is paid
from $30 to $60 weekly, but
the Monsignor said the pay
scale is based "progress to
ward sobriety," not the mini
mum wage law.
"To m a n 1 p u late" these
men's allowances by law is
"bureaucracy, not rehabilita
tion," he said. If he did pay
the men as much as the gov
ernment asks, he said, they
would only "go blow it all,"
and the rate of dropouts at
the center would increase by
"several hundred per cent."
The Monsignor told Clar
ence T. Lundquist, administra
tor for the wage and hour di
vision of the Labor depart
ment, that "he doesn't pre
tend" to pay his alcoholics
who fall under interstate com
merce a minimum wage.
"Frankly, we don't separate
the men," he said. "They are
all alcoholics; all get the same
therapy, the same medical at
tention, regardless of their
federal status. All men get
full coverage under God's law
of brotherly love - no partial
coverage under Caesar's laws
of interstate commerce."
Picture, Black
The Labor department says
the Monsignor is painting too
black a picture. Lundquist
said other centers similar to
Monsignor Wall's conform to
the law, but he admits the
Monsignor "really believes"
there is a matter of principle
involved. Describing the men
in his center, which he said,
in contradiction of the Labor
department, is like no other,
the Monsignor painted this
picture:
"They are homeless, tired,
sick, weary. Most have his
tories of skid row living and
have been in the revolving
door of short term jail sen
tences for drunken offenses.
Most are over 45. They have
an employment record that
scares off anyone, even the
employer of the most menial
and despised unskilled work
. . . their only companionship
is a constant inner sense of
doom."
Unlike other shelters, the
Monsignor says, he does not
recruit alcoholics. They must
come to him. They do all the
work to keep the center run
ning. In his fight, he has picked
up some allies in Congress.
Sen. Clifford P. Case (R-N.J.)
asked Labor Secretary W. Wil
lard Wirtz to look into the bat
tle. Rep. Frank J. Becker (R
N.Y.) reported to Congress
that he thought "our great
Department of Labor would
have other important and ser
ious problems to handle, rath
er than spending time and
energy, at the taxpayers ex
pense, to harass institutions
of this nature."
Lindquist says "no firm
policy decision" has been
made. The case could be
taken to court, he said, "or
no action could be taken at
all."
But to Monsignor Wall this
is a matter than "cannot be
ignored or condoned." Nor
does he plan to let It become
either.
He told Labor department
officials "My health if food . .
. my zeal is great ... my
cause la Just ... I welcome
the debate."
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