1954-08-26 - Sadie Pope Dowdell Public Library

THURSDAY, AUGUST % 19*1 THI BOOTH AMBOT ORSBf PAGEEUWEN
•^
THE SOUTH AMBOY CITIZEN
Published evtry Thursday by
Tflfi SOUTB AMBOY PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.
Established 1*83
M. C. BLOQDGOOD, Managing Editor
mter*d M Second Claw Matter at the South Ambey Pott Office
Under the Act of March S, 1870
Subscription Rates: $2.00 per Year. Five Cento per Copy
COMPOSITION BESPONglMIJTT
^ ThU newspaper will net be liable for errors appearing la any
advertising beyond the ooert of space occupied by the error.
fm km
"ALL AIR AND NO SUBSTANCE"
Many were surprised at the action of the Hcuse in
decisively voting down the highly controversial proposal
for government reinsurance of the voluntary health insurance
plans. Some sincerely felt that this was a blow to improving
the ability of the American people to meet the
financial exigencies of illness.
The reason the House so acted was well described by
Congressman Williams of Misssissippi, who said: "I took
my youngster out to the park about two months ago, and
she saw them selling cotton candy, all pink and pretty and
inviting. Naturally, she had to have some. That cotton
candy was pretty. It tasted sweet and smelled sweet, but
when she tried to bite into it she found nothing there. This
bill is like that cotton candy, all air and no substance, but
costly." The purpose of the reinsurance idea was to
, extend the benefits without increasing the cost to those
[who have the protection. No one knows how great the
|ultimate cost to the taxpayers would be, if this were to be
jmplished on any appreciable scale. But one thing seems
Brtain—it would lead to strong government domination
;f the health insurance business, and to more and more
government control, directly or indirectly, of medical practioe
and facilities. That would be inevitable-—if government
doea the paying, it doea the bossing too.
The growth of health insurance in a relatively short
period of time has been phenomenal. We have been given
ever-improving coverage at a cost easily within the means
of the majority of families. The Hcuse felt, and correctly,
that there was no justification for government intervention
in this field..
PARTNERS
Medicine has a partner that few of us associate with
the healing arts—the meat industry.
That's because meat animals are the source of a long
list of .extremely important medical products, and the meat
industry has developed elborate facilities for saving them
The best known of these products is undoubtedly
sulin—the substance which has literally meant th^? diflference
between life %nd death to vast numbers of simerers
from diabetes. But there are others whose contribution to
humanity is comparable. These include ACTH c
sone, used in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatic itever
and other dread diseases; liver extract, for treating pertiic
ious anemia; bone marrow concentrate, used to alleviate
various blood disorders; fibrin foam, which controls bl
ing during operations; and dehydrocholic acid, used / in
treating certain gall bladder disorders. There are many
more.
It is quite a job to save and proptrly process/ the
animal by-products from which such medicines come. As an
example, it takes the pancreas glands from 7,500 pigs or
1,500 cattle to make a single ounce of insulin. But our highly-developed
meat industry does that job in stride, day in
and day out, and millions of people are the beneficiaries.
MINE INSPECTION IS A STATE FUNCTION
Recommendations which will materially change the
organizational makeup of the Bureau of Mines haVe been
approved and made public by Secretary of the Interior
McKay.
One of the most important of these .has to do with inspection
of coal mines. It is observed "that the ultimate
effectiveness of the safety program is dependent upon the
cooperation of Federal and State inspection services, mine
employes, and management.' The Bureau will now concentrate
major effort on education work, with the purpose of
bringing all state inspection services up to the Bureau's
general standards.
Interior's news release says that as this is accomplished
"the need for Federal coal mlno Inspection will decrease
and eventually cease to exist. Any part of the appropriation,
not required for inspection should be used for educational
work as needed. It appears this change in activity
which is under way to a email degree, can be accelerated at
the present time. This statement U bated on the fact that
although there are fewer coal mines, fewer coal miners and
less coal production today than at any time since Federal
inspection was first required, there are currently more
Federal inspectors than at any previous time."
The new policy certainly seems all to the good. Mine
inspection is primarily a state function and responsibility.
Federal inspection is a duplication of effort. It is simply
common sense—to say nothing of the taxpayers' interest
in the matter—that the Federal government withdraw
from this activity at the earliest possible time.
WITH A CAPITAL B
. The belief that it is high time and then some that our
system of railroad regulating be thoroughly overhauled
seems to be almost universally held by those who have
objectively examined the question. And the reason for it
is that regulatory policy was conceived in a vanished era,
and is based on obsolete concepts.
Writing in the Philadephia Bulletin, Ralph W. Page
expressed this view: "Our machinery for regulating the
railroads was provided when they were a monopoly—Now
this segment of our economy is no longer a monopoly—
On the countrary, the railroads face the fiercest kind of
competition." t
The San Francisco News recently made this comment:
"Regulation of the railroads does seem overly severe. A
railroad must go through so much red tape to get permission
for a rate change that by the time it is granted—if it
is—the conditions that led to the original request may have
changed radically—Our railroads must be strong, if the
nation is to be strong."
At about the ^ame time, the head of U. S. Steel observed
that, among other things, the rails are being "regulated
to death."
These opinions are typical. And they arise from a concern
for the public interest—not just the railroads' interest.
Last year the railroads handled 56.0? per cent of the
total commercial intercity freight traffic—more than the
trucks, waterways, pipe lines and air lines combined. They
are the backbone of transportation with a capital B. So
anything which puts artificial barriers in the way of railroad
progress hurts us all.
OUR DEPENDENCY ON SHIPPING
Hanson W. Baldwin, military editor of the New York
Times, is one of the country's leading authorities in his
field. In*- a recent column he endorsed President Eisenhowers
request to Congress for a comparatively small
und to aid our ailing merchant marine, and said: "Merchant
shipping always has been for the United States a
key element^ of Bound national defense and always will be
so long as sea power forms one of the first lines of defense.
This is more true today than'it was prior to World War II,
despite the increased capabilities of the plane.
"For the United States is now far more dependent on
foreign sources for vital strategic raw materials than it
was a decade or two ago. Uranium, oil, manganese, colum
bium and scores of other minerals and products must be
transported across the* seas to the United States if our war
economy is to be maintained."
Mr. Baldwin pointed out that our present merchant
fleet is large in size. But the mere figures are misleading,
for 80 per cent of the ships should be replaced within nine
years. Yet, unless government takes the necessary action,
merchant shipbuilding will come to a full stop in the relatively
near future.
Mr. Baldwin summed up the problem in these words:
"The high cost of constructing and operating United States
merchamvships is the major economic reason for the merchant
marine's between-wara decline. There is no doubt,
however, that the merchant marine is an essential element
of our security policies as they are now envisaged."
•Do What Yourself?
Tho do-it-yourself movement
that IJ sweeping the country 1*
rapidly turning to fcrgit-ioale
horns Improvement. In a recent
survey of thousands of homeowneii,
a lumber manufacturer
determined that most bomeownerj
want to make the following
improvement* ID thla order it
extra bathroom; 3) finished
baevnent, and 3) addition of a
room or rooms in the attic tor
snore living
New Gai Heat 4yttem
No basement, no exposed radla-ton,
no fuel storage space and
no problem keeping oomfortably
. That'* the description of
now" ktod of
cat-operated
p
heating tyatsm Imbedded In
\ow. The secret lie* In steel
ftfte radiant panels to * ooncrete
floor slab, supplied with hot
water heat by a oonttot boiler
tucked swfty in a utility room
HOUSEKEEPING
There ought to be some kind of
automatic warning device to keep
wives on the alert against husbands
who suddenly become ecoaontyminded:
suddenly, that is, after
bills come in for a new casting rod
and power saw!
All unconscious of budget visions
dancing In JefT'B head 1 barged in
airily: "Well, our old washing machint
gave its last whecxe today
and Just up and died! We have to
have a new one now."
"Can't afford it. Out of the question."
That was my answer . . .
short and to the
point. I had intended
in my
scheming little
mind to appeal
to Jeff's mechanical
nature
in describing the
machine I had
my heart set on,
Whirlpool's latest
automatic washer. I really could
have waxed enthusiastic over the
guide lite control panel, a marvel
in mechanical perfection, At your
finger-tip on a beautifully-colored,
fully-ttluminated panel there are
choices of water temperatures for
whites and cottons, prints and
colors, or delicate fabrics; water
levels, and washing times. Automatically,
a colored light reveals
your, choices, then a colored indicator
follows the washer operation'
so you know what's going on every
step of the way!
"I can show you," I pitched in,
"that the new washer I have in
mind will cost only half as much to
operate as our old machine."
Jeff got on his "prove it" look,
so I explained about the 6uds-miaer
which cuts soap, water and fuel
costs by saving clean, sudsy water
for use from one load to the next.
He really perked up his ear* at
that so" I explained how much
water could b« sand by whig
•snail amounts Instead of full capacity
for a Uttle load of socks or a
dab of nylons. By now Jeff was off
the defensive so I went on about
the fully flexible washing cycle
which enables you to stop, repeat,
shorten, lengthen, or skip any part
of the automatic operation. I wound
up the campaign with information
on the seven complete rinses, an
interior ultra-violet lamp to help
sanitize clothes, and a dual cycle
tone which sounds when a wash
load ia completed!
Well, we have the new washer
but after all my subtle conniving
it's a little maddening to hear Jen 7
brag about "his" smart investment
and how easy it is on the budget?
But I'm biding my time waiting for
Jeff to sell himself on the match*
ing automatic dryer.
Operation SpMge
A 3.3-ton gift air conditioning
unit can "sponge" 120 quarto of
moisture out of the air In a 6-
to 3-room house in one warm
day, proving that It Isnt the
heat but the humidity that
cau%» discomfort. The unit provides
year-round air conditioning
-warming or cooling the «U
and Altering and dehumldffylng
It.
Swear By B«*rf
llueb of the world still takes Its
oaths "by the beard of the Phopa-
«t." At one tim* the Turks eves
'measured" veracity by the fullness
of the beard, and a hirsute
witness needed to give no oath.
Think, save a life today.
W SMITH ST COKNCR KjNfl
PERTH AMBOT