Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1963)
HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Fall. Ore. Sunday, July T, 193 Mined Waters NOTHING SPECIAL PAGE I fcdihfdaL (paqsL Affluent Society And Alcoho (W. 8. S.I Somewhat like mental illness, alcoholism was for long decades a problem consigned to the shadows. The victims turned up in "drunk tanks" at the jails, in grim hospital wards, in "save a soul" missions in skid rows everywhere. It was a problem to hide, to keep secret, to attach heavy stigma to in "polite" society. While this view of alcoholism lingers in some places, since World War II far more thoughtful attention and study is being given the problem by a host of interested parties. Alcoholics today are generally regarded as sick people, needing medical, psychiatric and social help. Doctors, academicians and various kinds of social specialists are mount ing an attack. Comparative figures do not exist which would permit one to say whether alcoholism has Increased proportionately in recent times. Certainly the awareness of it and the fuller reporting have risen. So we can make a fairly accurate guess that there are more than five million alcohol ics in the United States today most of them not on skid row but in some aspect or other of respectable society. The National Council on Alcoholism esti mates that some $430 million a year Is lost in wages by alcoholics through .absenteeism resulting from excessive drinking. Many high ly valued persons who have climbed high on the business ladder are lost at a time when they could be most useful. Plenty We've been all through it again and again. The teen-agers are bored. They have no challenges, no useful conflicts. They get into trouble because, whatever else it is, trouble is excitement. New studies are underscoring anew that this empty, aimless habit of life is as much a fact among well-off youngsters with cars and money as it is with poor lads roaming the '- streets In the slums. There has been enough fuss about the ed ucationally underprivileged, the school drop out, the product of the broken city home, to focus attention on this phase of the matter. Action, of course, is still meager. But the problem at higher economic lev els seems to be dismissed as so much fantasy. The overprivileged youngsters in suburban families resort to vandalism, thievery, drink ' and a variety of other passing excitements while parents pile on the kindly favors. Little that is wholesome, innocent fun has any appeal these days for the more ener getic, aggressive young ones. Sports, dancing, you name it these things are regarded as "tame." In a New York Times survey of suburban youth, one boy said: "Yes, some kids drink. Maybe they do it to forget about things." At 16, what is that they have to forget? The memory of the emptiness of yesterday? The time of growing up used to be thought of as filled with its own natural ex citements developing one's bodily skills, Proposed Test Ban Harmful Congressman Craig Ilosmer (California) recently released a statement which describes pro posals offered by Soviet negotia tors as "blueprints for a U.S. sui cide weapon or a Soviet murder weapon, depending on which side of the Iron Curtain they are viewed from." Warning of a potential "nuclear Pearl Harbor," he declared the treaty's on-site inspection provi sions arc "meaningless because machinery to sjxit test cheating is so inadequate suspicion of moni tors will never be moused and no on-site inspectors ever will be dispatched." Ilosmer, ranking House mino rity member of the Joint Com mittee on Atomic Energy and Chairman of the House GOP Com m 1 1 1 c e on Nuclear Testing, charged Disarmament Agency and State Department advisers "have censored data and with held from President Kennedy sci entific evidence proving a 'big hole' for Soviet test cheating in revised administration test ban offers soon to be made to the So viets." This evidence definitely exists and is ignored completely by these officials who also arc try ing to keep it from the public, Ilosmer claims. He described what lie calls a wcll-orgnnined campaign of dis tortion and half-truths aimed at brainwashing the American public into meek submission to a disas trous agreement - for-agreo-ment's sake cave-in soon to be made to Soviet negotiators at Ge neva In the form of drastically scaled down treaty demands. The causes of alcoholism are many, varied and complex. The sources of trouble of ten lie deep in the human personality, or in .subtle physical differences. But such experts as Dr. Scldon Bacon, director of the Center of Alcohol Studies at Itutgers University, lay particular emphasis on the argument that the affluent society in America today offers heavy encouragement to potential alcoholics. Not only is (here more money for what is an expensive habit, but, says Bacon, the "drinking custom" is steadily being built into more and more parts of our daily life. The cocktail party, the great general prev alence of partying, the long business lunch with liquid trimmings, these and many more things contribute to a significantly "permis sive" atmosphere. Such rituals will not capture the person who is physically not susceptible and has his problems under control. They can get the po tential alcoholic started on his perilous road and later give him cover for a habit that has gone beyond mere "social drinking." The specialists now suggest that unless a victim's friends and family realize this facet of the difficulty, "cures" given at the medical and psychiatric level may all too often fall short of permanence. Vital help can come if those in the victim's circle will relieve him of the social pressure to conform, which so many feel today. Of Challenges exploring the world of animals and trees, opening the book of knowledge wide for the first time. Fortunately, millions of American young sters still find these wonders along the ado lescent trail. But too many do not. They are proud of being more mature than their coun terparts of a generation ago. But they have lost their innocence while finding nothing to replace it. There is nothing new in saying what is part of the'painful truth that overindulgent parents must bear heavy blame for this. But the youngsters themselves cannot be absolved. If they are mature enough to be half-adults, half - children, they are mature enough to understand they need something better to lie into than tomorrow's "kicks." We hear a lot these days about the "hid den America," the 30 to 40 million people spread about in city slums, hill country, dying farms, who live in distress, disease, oppres sion and ignorance. You don't need to join the Peace Corps to find these folk. They're a half-hour drive from any suburb. Maybe some of the overprivileged, who can't find anything that appeals to them for more than a few hours at a stretch, ought to go and lake a look. There are some chal lenges there that will be around a good while, worthy of the attention of even the most ma ture hall'-adult who ever spun his wheels in suburban idleness. It is carried on hy statements and letters to the editors of key newspapers over names of well known personalities who want an effective test ban treaty, but who have not been informed of tho facts proving administration proposals will result only In an ineffective treaty one which stops all U.S. weapons progress while simply trusting an unpoliced Soviet promise not to continue theirs secretly and attain the nu clear weapons siqieriority needed In back up a "surrender-or-dio" ultimatum. Ilosmer stated facts establishing the "big hole" for Soviet cheating were placed on public record by Atomic Energy Commission and Defense Department expert wit nesses during "little noted" hear ings of tile Joint Atomic Energy Committee, March 5-12. "Itather than face them, admit errors in judgment and mistakes in evaluation. Presidential advis ers on the test ban question stub bornly have refused to budge from dangerous positions which undermine the very foundation of national delense against Commu nism's drive to achieve world domination and bury the l olled States as part of the process." "It nu:.t never be forgotten that these eoplc arc part of the same crew which so badly misjudged the Boy of Pigs situation that disaster followed. In tlie present instance the magnitude of disaster which could follow only a lew years of clandestine, one-sided So viet nuclear progress Is infinitely greater," Ilosmer said. He said only demands by ah aware, aroused American public can reverse the proposed "sure lose" ban strategy of gradual nuclear self-mutilation. "T h a t strategy, in the end, will bring a terrifying rain of H-bombs on America if we choose not to sur render. Only if we demand and get nn effective test ban treaty one which stops nuclear prog ress equally on both sides of the Iron Curtain might the risks our country (aces in the nuclear world be somewhat i educed." Al manac Hy lulled Press lnlrrmilional Tmlay is Sunday, July 7. the 1811th day of with 177 to follow. The moon is appiuaching the last quarter. The morning stars are Venus. Jupiter and Saturn. Tho evening star is Mars. On this day in history; In IK-tti, the Mexican garrison at Monlerev surrendered to the V S. Navy.' In into, our persons named as accomplices in the assassination ol President Lincoln were hanged. Ill Ilftt, President McKinley au thorized the annexation of Ha waii. In 1I1. riots swept the Congo end natives murdered white per sons on sight. A thought for tlie day Ameri can novelist, Washington Irving, said: "A woman's whole hie is a history of the affections." I I t McNamara's Conscience Man Pentagon By COL. RAY CKOMI.EY Newspaper Enterprise Military Analyst WASHINGTON (NEAl-In the long corridors of the Pentagon, big gruff Dr. Robert Steadman is unknown as "McNamara's con science." Steadman likes the job and the title. When Defense Secretary McNa mara makes a decision to close a military base or awards a large contract to Whatzis Company in stead of Whoozis Company, men and women frequently lose their jobs and communities can lose much of their income. When the base or industry is important enough, a McNamara decision may threaten rugged times for a community. Currently, the loss of defense business threatens belt tightening in towns through the U.S. This is where Bob Steadman, the conscience, comes in. His job is to move in unobtrusively, at the invitation of civic leaders, and give them tips on how they them selves can solve their employment and loss-on-income problems. Like many a conscience, Stead man has no money to offer and no authority. He has only his person ality to work with. When there's a crisis, Steadman sort of sidles into a town, unbut tons his shirt collar, makes a wry face or two and tells the towns people. "Well, we're in the soup and we've got a problem. We cre ated the problem, but you're the ones who are going to have to solve it, not us. So what do you want to do? Can I help you with any ideas?" Steadman's job. as he sees it, is to get people thinking. "If 1 can do that," says Stead man making a grimace, "that's halt the battle." What Steadman can do is to put the local people in LETTERS " TO THE EDITOR Warning To the ones that can't read: I noticed in Sunday's fi-30-S.I Herald and News an ad thai was put in the paper hy the Enter prise Irrigation District quote: "We are mossing with poison chemicals. It is advisable to keep livestock Irnm drinking the irrigation water." How about children that cnuM not read this ad'.' Only recently several deaths have " happened bom this typo of tiling. Our officials give lust concern about livestock. What about hu man health? The milk we is from the cattle that this water or eat the r..,. drink drink How about the fish in Lost Rjv. 'ha! ean't read newspapers. I he dm- and all other defenseless erentures that aren't aare of the ison squad hemg actively at " K' to contaminate land and mine. vour ,, Aml' R. Cosier. - South Sixth street. Thanks I would like to h.. , ,ink , note published i 0,e "wnnanot tb. ennnuttee. Mitigates touch with all the government agencies that can help. "But they really can't help much," said a Steadman aide. "The townspeople are the ones who finally have to do what's to be done to get the town out of the doldrums we cause." "1 used to take a gang into a .town," says Steadman, "and they'd all make speeches and ev eryone would be bored and noth ing would happen." Then Steadman got the idea of just sitting around and talking sometimes almost all night in sliirtsleeved bull sessions. He just starts people off to talking and things go on from there. "The first feeling people have," said Steadman, "is helplessness. Things seem black. Apparently there's nothing that can be done. After that period of gloom ends, people start thinking. They start coming up with ideas. Once that happens the battle is half over." Of course, when a military base is being closed, Steadman and the Defense Department do have something tangible to offer. Take three different types of De fense Department - created prob lems: Case one: An obsolete !IOO-acre Air Force base was to be closed quickly on the outskirts of a community of 13.000. The base payroll was $3.5 million, including 270 civilian jobs. Local procure ment totaled $2 million a year. Steadman's federal task force met w ith community leaders. With Steadman went representatives of the Air Force, Small Business Ad ministration, Civil Service Com mission, Federal Aviation Agency, General Services Administration, and the Departments of Labor, Commerce and Health, Education and Welfare. Hero is what happened: The GSA assigned 80 acres and there's nothing that can be done. Air Force donated $108,000 worth of machine tools and equipment lo a new state vocational school organized to take advantage of the site. Another 25 acres of the land was transferred for a new junior high school. The city obtained title to the air strip, including hangars and util ities. Steadman cooperated when the community eslablislied an indus- BE , "If bl u frt hert uitb facklt, and didn't i hit ui THAT uould bt another tbint'." am Disasters trial council with a full-time direc tor to seek out new industry. Now the community has a new plywood manufacturing concern, which is reactivating a dormant forestry industry, a new furniture factory and a new paper branch plant. An airline is expanding its terminal facilities. The new junior high school is under construction. The vocational school is in opera tion. Case two: A 3,200-acrc arsenal employing 2,600 people with a pay roll of $15 million was ordered closed. The phase-out of this installa tion covered a three-year period with slow reductions in personnel. Every employe was offered a new position with all moving expenses paid. Those desiring not to move are being offered jobs in other services and government agen cies, where possible. A nonprofit organization, formed to develop ways for taking up the slack, set up an industrial and res idential development council. Steadman asked the government to make available some acreage from the buffer zone which sur rounded the arsenal so that em ployers might be induced to locate there in advance of the closing. Within 48 hours, the Defense De portment announced the buffer zone strip would be released for development. Case three: A city had been heavily engaged in bomber pro duction. Defense cutbacks in or ders necessitated laying off a fourth of the work force. Further cutbacks were in prospect as a result of defense shifts for air craft to missiles and the resultant shift in orders to plants in other cities. Preliminary planning has begun on the possibility of expanding meat packing, grain handling, pe trochemical processing and ,the manufacture of light executive air craft, electronics equipment and boats and other recreation items. As Steadman emphasized, the communities have got to solve problems themselves, even though the Department of Defense created them. Steadman sees himself as a mixer. He's willing to sit up all night in a back room with his slioes off listening and encourag ing if that does any good. He thinks it does. M I . I, .411 ri- vaw I've often pondered tie trend of modern girls to put up their hair so it looks like a mop. Just the other day, the answer occurred. It's because most girls don't know what a mop looks like. Responding to a request herein for material, an unidentified read er says: "Recently you called on the readers for ideas for your column, and I'm enclosing a poem, rather long, but timely for this day and age, don't you think?" I do think, and here's the mes sage: THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND 'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer Thought it scarcely worth his while To waste much time on the old violin But held it up with a smile. What am I bid on, good folks?" he cried, "Who'll start the bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar, then two! Only two? Two dollars, and who'll make it three? Three dollars, once, three dollars twice; Going for three . . ." But no, From the room, far back, a grey haired man Came forward, and picked the bow. Then, wiping the dust from the old violin And tightening tlie loose strings He played a melody pure and sweet As a caroling angel sings. The music ceased, and the auc tioneer With a voice that was quiet and low Said, "What am I bid for die old violin?" And he held it with the bow. "A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two? Two thousand! 'And who'll make three? Three thousand once, three thou sand twice, And going and gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried, "We do not quite understand What changed its worth?" Swift ly came the reply: "The touch of a Master's hand." And many a man with life out of tune. And battered and scarred with sin Is auctioned cheap to the thought less crowd Much like the old violin. "A mess of pottage," a glass of wine; By PETER EDSON Washington Correspondent Newspaper Enterprise Assn. WASHINGTON iNE.M There wasn't a single pessimistic predic-' tion from the panel of big busi ness experts analyzing the eco nomic outlook for the second half of 1U63 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors meeting. No boom was predicted, just continued good business with steady though slow improvement into 1W4. This was not just the usual chamber of commerce bally-hoo. The chamber's national headquar ters here has been consistently critical of administration econom ic policy as harmful to business and its forecasts have been gloomy. There were a few guarded state ments from the panel of econo mists that continued business ex pansion was dependent on a tax cut. But the consensus was that Congress ultimately will crash through with favorable tax legisla tion this year. There w as an admission that un employment is still too high. It was recognized that unemploy ment might even rise during the last half of liimt even while em ployment was rising "If we are to get unemployment under the 5 per cent rate during the next five years." said Chase Manhattan Bank's director of ec onomic research, William K. But ler, "business will have to pro duce 10 millon new job opportun ities. In the i.ist five years onlv It million new job; were created. We need a 50 er cent increase in business activity because tlie la bor force is increasing 50 per cent (aster in tlx1 6s than in the 50s." There was a little concern over tlie continued unlavorable I' S. balance oi payinents. which has Nfn running at about $3 billion a year for the last two years. But Butler foresees favorable trends in a possible rise in interest A game and he travels on, He is "going" once, and "going" twice, He's "going" and almost Gone." But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd Never can quite understand The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought By a touch of the Master's hand. My curiosity is aroused. Re cently, the Covington, Tenn., Leader carried an editorial calling attention to reductions in telephone rates. The writer of the editorial, to make a test, called someone in Klamath Falls to see how much it would eosl lo call 3,000 miles just to sa,y "hello" to a friend (or maybe it was a relative, for all I know). Anyway, I'd like to know who was called. Maybe a quote from the editor will bring some response from the Klamath Falls' recipient of the call. Here's what the writer had to say, among other things: "... The discussion pro gressed to the point of wondering if one really could telephone the west coast for only a dollar. We decided to call some friends in Oregon for that nominal fee. "Upon inquiring of the local operator what the charges would be for a three-minute station-to-station call to Klamath Falls, we found that we could speak to friends all the way around the country for a charge of 90 cents plus nine cents tax. An outstand ing bargain we thought. "We made the call and we were gratified when our friends registered what we considered a proper degree of surprise at our calling nearly 3,000 miles just to say hello, and we en joyed a four minute conversa tion which will appear as a $1.27 item on our next phone hill." Twenty five years from now there will be letters to the editor about how all tlie juveniles are delinquent on account of they haven't the old-time chores around the house any more, like turning up the thermostat or pushing the button to open the garage door. Any idea we might have had about the ferocity of the Rus sian navy has been dispelled by the news that Capt. Yevgeni Ivanof, the London lover boy, hears the nickname "Honey Bear." Quick. Can you rattle off the names of the 12 Apostles? EPSON IN WASHINGTON . . . Chamber Outlook On Business Optimistic rates, a cut in U.S. defense expen ditures overseas and some im provement in international trade. "The fact that Europe is having a little inflation now improves the outlook for U.S. exports," says Butler in summary, "and the prospects for improvement in the balance of payments situation are all on the favorable side." "Nine out of ten U.S. econom ists say there is nn danger of in flation in the United States in the next six months." . declares Dr. James .1. O'Leary. research direc tor for the Life Insurance Assn. of America. On the steel outlook. Vice Presi dent Irwin H. Such of Penton Pub lishing Co., Cleveland, believes that "the new labor agreement n)cns the way for uninterrupted production for nearly two years or, for that matter, the foreseeable future ... to build a 'new' Ameri can steel industry." Such predicts production of m million tons of steel in 13, the largest for any year since 1037, at generally stable prices. "For the remainder of l3 and 19M." he says, "I am willing to go along with the optimists." "A-OK" is the way Robert J. Eg gert. marketing research manager lor Ford Motor Co. summarizes the automobile industry outlook. This is steel's best customer and directly or indirectly the em ployer of one of every seven U.S. workers. He foresees 7 4 million new car sales this year, breaking 19il sales by 3nn.m.io and equaling the I H55 record. Touching on oilier business fields. Dr. Emerson P. Schmidt, director of economic research for Hie U.S. Chamber's national staff points to the new all-time high of the construction industry reportrd lor May as a favorable' indicator. "The second half of Hny will show less expansion than the first half." Schmidt predicts. "Bit cams in 14 will be equal to or better than those in 1 ',!."
