Tuesday, July 17, 1962

Reckless People Ask For Trouble

Maybe I Stirred Sam Up Too Much-

The American public should breathe a silent prayer of thanksgiving that a skeptical woman doctor of the Food and Drug Administration block-

It appeared in England and Australia, in Portugal and in Canada.

. 4.- I- r j I spring of 1961, West Germans who had

thalidom^P license, for a drug known as been using thalidomide regularly began to complain

inauaomi^ , ^ tingling in the hands, of sensory disturbance and

Ur. hYancis Kelsey s cool view of the drng of poor coordination of nerves^nd muscle The druir widely sold 111 Europe, and also in Canada, saved was put on prescription basis, but continued to be

uncounted heartbreaks.

Mondays Daily Reflector carried the story of how thalidomide was linked to malformation in babies born to women who had used the drug.

A recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association carried a tragic account of the

very widely used.

But some months before this, obstetricians in various Wesf: German clinics had begun to notice a mystifying increase in the number of cases of phocomelia, a rare malformation in newborn infants. Typically, a phocomeliac baby will be born

drug . . . background which offers a sobering lesson with no arms, but with hands protruding like ftXp. for reckless gobblers of pills, doctors and drug man- pers directly from the shoulder. Other victims ar ufactiirers the world over. - born without ears, or with half a leg. Yet the vast

It appears that early in 1950 a top European majority of such children are said to be of normal drug manufacturer discovered a now synthetic, mentality and perhaps two-thirds of them live, thalidomide, originally conceived for the treatment One clinic in Hamburg reported no such births of epilepsy, was worthless for that purpose but ex- between 1949 and 1958; but in 1959 one phocome-cellcnt for inducing sleep. liac birth was noted. In 1960 there were 30 at this

Thereafter it was sold as a sleeping tablet, a clinic; in 1961, terrifyingly, there were 154. sedative and tranquilizer. It had a prompt action.

gave a natural deep sleep and no hangover. It appeared safe and innocent. /

Thalidoniide (sold under the trade name of Contergan) soon became West Germanys most popular sleeping tablet and came into wide, general use. It was even used as a cough medicine, and u liquid form was made for children.

Dr. Helen B. Taussig, author of the JAMA article, says 'it became West Germanys babysitter. The drug was sold by the ton, and sold without a prescription. Inasmuch as the drug was cheap and an excellent sedative, the sale was tremendous.

! dispute Brings Valuable Data

By WILLIAM A. SHIRES BANK Out of the smouldering cOTtroversy over an ai>-pllcation for a new branch bank at Hickory has come a thorough, detailed and probably valuable economic research report (m Catawba County.

This r^rt, prepared by Wachovia Bank and Trust Co. primarily to support its application. has been filed with the State Banking Commission. Its data gives a new and Interesting picture of the listling and indurtrious western Piedmont area, aside from the dispute which produced it as a by-product.

DATA Catawba is the 15th largest county in the state and. based on figures, ranks 12th in total personal income. Of 11 cmmties comparing closely in populatiOTi. between Randolphs 61,497 and Robesons 89,-102, Catawba ranks first in bank deposits and first in retail sales.

Catawba's 73,131 population Is projected for a 54 per cent increase in the 20-year period. 1960-1980, comparable with increases of 54 per cent projected for Iredell and secimd CHily to a 61 per cent Increase projected for Alamance.

ISSUE The issue of a fifth bank in Catawba Countythere are now three and a fourth ap-plicatiwi has been approvedis scheduled for a hearing In Raleigh Wednesday.

Bus loads of interested per-SOTis are expected to come to Raleigh from Catawba County for the hearing, and arguments pro and cot ot the Wachovia application.

ODE Proper sympathy for the role of a political chairman, a man who must listen to the problems and pass ot appointments, get out the v(^ and keep party affairs in order, is seldom found.

But Connor Vick of Wilson, N.C., got to thinking about it the other day and penned an Ode To a Democratic Executive Committe Chairman.

He sent a copy along, and with Mr. Vick's permission, this Is what he wrote:

If he is usually in the office he should get out more often.

If be is out when you call

he Isn't on the job.

If he is at hOTie nights , he is neglecting party activities. If he isnt at home nights he is wasting his time on frivolous things.

If he talks m a subjecthe is trying to run things.

If he is silenthe has lost Interest or be has an inferiority complex.

If he agrees with youhe lacks originality or conviction If he doesn't agree with you he is ignorant.

If he is too busy for casual talkhis office has gone to his head.

If he engages in casual talk that's all he has to do.

If he cant give you an immediate answer he doesnt think things through.

If he appears cordial he is playing politics.

If he appears aloof he should be trimmed down to size.

If he has a strong opinion he is pull headed.

If he tries to see both side to a questionhe is pussyfooting.

If he has been In office a short time he lacks experience.

If he has been in office a long time he is in a rut If he is well dressedhe thinks he is a big shot.

If he isnt well dressed he Isn't a proper representative of the party.

If he goes to church hes a hypocrite.

If be doesnt hes a heathen.

If he talks to everybodyhes a gossip.

If he doesnt hes stuck up.

If he takes a vacationhes been on one all year.

If he tries to settle all the complaints concerriing the next Postmaster, he must have the wisdom of Solomon, and If he worries about them, he win soon have ulcers.

To be a good County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman you must have the patience of Job, the skin of a rhinoceros, the cunning of a fox, the courage of a lion, be blind as a bat and silent as a sphinx.

Elsewhere in West Germany the same story was being told. It is roughly estimated that in the two-year period between 3^500 and 4.000 malformed infants were born in West Germany. Dr. Taussig says Probably the number will be far larger.

By November of last year the cause of these multiple tragedies was pinpointed and thalidomide was removed from th^ market. Thanks to the Food and Drug Administrations insistance on thorough proof of consumer safety and the conscientious attitude of our own drug industry, this country was spared.

But there is one more observation that must

be made, and me Richmond (Va) News Leader put it succinctly enough: Thanks in large part to the

drug industry, this nations health has never been o-. a t t/txt TA'VT

better. But the pitiful story of Contergah in West ^ AIjVJN lixlL/LJxv

Germany carries a warning too plain to be ignored: TV T , TI r r 7T r

An over-medicated public, recklessly gobbling up \ TOQ H I A C l 1""

needless pills, is asking for trouble. These miracle i. N X X C/Oi X V,^X1 jLjL LXl..

drugs can be an undoubted blessing, and most often '

they are; but as in the case of Contergan, they can be gheer hell, too.

iScSm^apOa^laa,'

The recent request by taxi opera^rs for an Increase in rates points up just how big the city of Greenville is these days in length anyway.

Judge Charles Whedbee representing the taxi operators, pointed out that a cab leaving his downtown stand and driving to Greenfield Terrace, then taking the fare to Lynndale and then returning to his station, would travel 12 miles.

Thus Greenville Is over six

Such Lessons Should Begin Early In A Home

Desecration of a resting place for the dead is not to be taken lightly.

For uncounted centuries, the deliberate damag- ^ length when measured ing of graves has been considered an unholy deed. Zdal?^^ne!d me standards of today, though lax in many respects trance is located at the U.S. 13-fiom those of our forefathers, still do not permit C. ii intersection north

indifference to the thoughtless trespassing of grave-yards, their use as playgrounds, the overturning the south, of tombstones and breaking of others.

Such reports of damage to the Cherry Hill Cemetery are not exagerated; nor are reports of its use ast a playground.

Time and the elements are not kind to an old cemetery, but wed judge the irresponsible mind a.s being even less so.

#

Of all the places in the world, it remains our conviction a cemetery would have least need for guards and locks and alarms. Respect for the dead, vespect for their families who survive them, respect fcr that hallowed ground . . . should be a mighty

force in insuring tranquility for our graveyards. On Friday, both Governor San-

^ * . tord and Dr. William C. Archie.

As in so many facets of a responsible society, executive director of the board these lessons begin early in the home . . . where the higher education, took time-burden properly belongs . .. where the responsibility ultimately rests.

green grass la now spreading over what will be the playing field.

As for,the stadium Itself, cot-creie footings have been poured over the pilings which were sunk on the site some time ago. With this much work done, it shocldnt be long before the steel supports for the seats begin rising. *

In a few months a stadium will take shape of which East Carolina College and all Greenville will truly be proud.

Sharp streaks of lightning split the skies and soon the black clouds opened up with a shower of rain that seemed almost punny compared with the might of the storm. s

Then the dust was settled. The dark clouds moved away and the thunder became a mere distant rumble. The sun shone brightly again through the crisp, clear air and all was tranquil once more.

From end-to-end the city covers a lot of territory.

Your columnist took another trip to the site of the new Fick-len Memorial Stadium yesterday afternoon. A covering of dark.

Sunday afternoon Indicated what a fickle lady Dame Nature is. A broiling sun beat down here all day.

Then with an awesome suddenness, the skies darkened In the late afternoon. With no warning a high wind began to howl through treetops and power lines. It shipped up a cloud of dust and sand that was overpowering to those who happened to be caught outside.

Other Editors Saying... ?or Private Colleges

(Greensboro Daily News)

Powerful Men Araue Prestiae

The Daily Reflector

^ INCORPORATED

Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday Established 1882 DA\ID JULIAN WHICHARD, Publisher

Entered at Post Office, Greenvle, N. C., as second clas mail matter.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES ~

By Carrier (In Towns) Week 30r

By Carrier (Motor Routes) Week 35c

BY MAIL, Payable In Advance

Greenville Post Office, Pitt County, Robtr.>50iiviile, VHiict buio Wiasbiiigton and CLocowinity.

Thriee Months ........................

Six Months ...........................

One Year ...____.

North Carolina rother than listed above)

Three Month.s .........................

Six Months ........................

One Year .................... '.

Plus 3% N. C. Sales Tax All Other Outside North Carolina

Three Months ........................

Six Months .................. ..

le Year ..............

$ 3 75 7.U -laeo

$4 00 7.50 14 00

5 4 25 8.00 15 00

MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to use for publication II news dispatches credited to it or no utherwLse credited to this paper and also the local news- publishea herein. All rights of publication -of special dispatches h?rt are also r^rved.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Thoma* P. Clark Co., Inc., New Ypik, Chicago, Atlanta Member Audit Bureau of Circulation.

All adverMUR copy must be received at least one day before publication date.

By JAMES MARLOW

WASHINGTON (APi - Two elderly Democrats are captains in one of the stiffest disputesits called a battle for prestigethat ever slowed down the machinery of Congress.

For more than three months, the quarrel between these two men and the committees of which they are chairmen has prevented the House and Senate from voting on money to run the government.

While the feud drags on, gov-eiTiment agencies are permitted under emergency regulations to go on spending this month at the rate they did in fiscal 1962. which ended June 30.

The argument between the two group.s will probably have the same effect on the general public as Patrick Henry used to have on Thomas Jefferson, who .said. Although it was difficult when he had .spoken to tell what he said, yet. while he wa.s ,^peaking^ it always ieem-ed directly to the point."

Sen. C^rl Hayden of Arizona, 84. ha.s been in Congress .50 years, longer than anyone el.se there. Rep. Clarence Cannon of Missouri, 83, has been a niem-bfr of the House .'19 years.

Ilayden. as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Cominii-tce., and Caihiwi. as cliairman of It.s oppo.site number in the House, are two of the most powerful men in Congre.ss.

It's the kind of power that goes away back in congressional history.

Woodrow Wilson wa.s writing* respectfully on this subject 77 years ago. I know' now how beder to describe our form of government in a single phrase than by calling it a government by the chairmen of the standing committees of Congress."

The disiHite over pre.stige in this case involves tradition, one of the most sacred areas in Congress, although anthropologists .sometimes refer to tradition as tribal custom.

Under the Constitution, revenue bills taxation arc to originate in the Housix It does not say appropriations bilj.s money voted by Congress for running the g,overnmentr-liave to origi

nate in the House or be voted on there first.

But somehow traditionally the House has handled them first, too. The amount of money the House votes and the amount of money the Senate votes are seldom the same.

So members of the Hayden and Cannon committees must confer to reach a compromise by ironing out the differences. Then the agreed-on bill goes back to the full House and Senate for final and formal approval.

But also, somehow traditionally. these conferences between the two committees have been taking place on the Senate side of the Capitol with a Senator acting as chairman.

This irked Cannon and his committee of the Hou.se. House members may feel a little inferior to the Senate for various reasons.

For example. House member.s give up their seats to run for the Senate, even though the 'salai-y is the same, $22,500.

So Cannons committee, which may have felt like pea.sants with a petitioov got fed up with trudging over to the Senate side for a conference under tht* {'haiinian hip of a .senator and marie ctcmand.s on Ha.yUen'.s coiumittee.

They were that half the con-feiences must i)e held on the Hou.se side of the Capitol and half of them must be under the chairmanship of a House member.

But before Hayden would a'uee to that, he wanted a concession: an end to the tradition that all money biUs originate in the Hou.se. He wants half of them to originate In the Sen-ate

Thats where the two committees got stuck and have been stuck ever since. The full

houses have not been able to

vote money for any government department becau.se their ap-propriation.s committees have

not sent them agrecd-on bills The two committees and

their chairmen may pet unstuff-rd soon to let the povemmrnt function as it is .supposed to. Pressure is building up on them.

ly measures to quiet the fears of private junior colleges about 14 new community colleges proposed by the Carlyle Commission. ''i

At Raleigh, the governor summoned a large number of church-college administrators to the mansion for lunch, reminded them that we cant escape the fact that only Mississippi ranks below North Carolina in the percentage of high school graduates who go on to college, and designated them a committee to reach some overdue conclusions about their exact place in North Carolinas overall design for higher education. At Morehead City, Dr. Archie told the North Carolina Press Association that no community is to feel that the state has any intention of foisting anything upon it that it doesnt want.

Whether these steps will get to the root of the junior college fears and dispel them no one knows. The calculation of exact college needs In communities around the state is a delicate statistical problem; and, beyond

school graduates as it does today. Both public and private colleges will be needed for that.

We are less disturbed by the meaningless comparison of North Carolina and Mississippi, for the real problem is not so much sending a certain percentage of North Carolinas college-age youth to college, as it is sending all of those who are equipped by interest, mentality and temperament to benefit from it.

There are Indeed dangers, a.s Dr. Benjamin Wilson, Jr., of Greensboro College w'ams in his letter (see Public Pulse) in any merely quantitative approach to higher education.

In seeking to accommodate Its educable youth, North Carolina w'ants to make sure that it Engages in none of the fraudu-lence that marks a great deal of factory-style college 'education today. What is built, whether public or private, should be built soundly, upon the fundamentals of a basic liberal arts, curriculum, a good faculty and good libraries. Size and multiplicity have little to do with the tenor of the academic sound, writes Dr. Wilson, a sense of purpose and intellectual honesty do, There can be no quarrel with this.

If North Carolina ranks near

that, it is sometimes difficult to ^ the bottom in the percentage of

sort out the motives that push towns and cities to seek state-supported community colleges.

What cannot be denied is that, according to carefully-compiled figures, the state of North Carolina must provide some 31,000 new college places over the next decade to take care of the same proportion of its high

high school graudates who go to college, it may or may not be unfortunate. And that fact can be gauged only from further figures that would show (1) how well North Carolina does with what she educates and (2) what truly able students are being denied, through lack of money or space, an education.

If you havent noticed, thjags are considerably brighter arl^d Pitt Memorial Hospital these nights. Its because mercury vapor lights have been installed in the parking areas surrounding the building.

Anyone who has ever stumbled from l|ls car to the entrance on a dark night can appreciate this addition to the hospital facilities.

Strength ;-or Today

By EARL L. DOUGLASS

NECESSITY AND DANGER INVOLVED^

Most religious systems involve a certain amount of formalism. There Is a formalism of beliefs which we call creeds. There is a formalism of church 1 a w which we call policy. There is ^a formalism in the conduct of religious services which we call worship. Practically every variety of religion in the world over involves formalism. Sometimes this formalism is of a nature that bewilders those that are not a part of it or perhaps calls forth their protest. But formalism to some degree is associated with practically all religions.

This formalism Is necessary but it is also dangerous. It may become an end in the minds of worshippers rather than a means. People may come to the place where they simply go through certain motions and believe that everjdhhig has been fixed up between them and God. The oriental who spins a prayer wheel and by so doing believes that he sends up hundreds or thousands of prayers to his God is the extreme case. Some of the men and women In our ow'n country who never miss a church seiwice and can cite chapter and verse to prove everything they believe are suffering from the bad effects of religious formalism.

The trouble about formalism Is that it quickly hardens and becomes dead as a stone. Jesus likened true faith to a mustard seed, small but capable of growth.

Bew'are of the dangers of religious formalism: they are the devil's device for destroying the worth and power of true religion.

Doverty Isnt A -Cause

By GEORGE E. SOKOLSKT Copyright. 1962, King Features Syndicate, Inc.

I have before me two letters: one Is from a teacher - in a Bedford-Stuyvesant (Negro district) junior Mgh school: the (^her from an American statiOT-cd in Itidy. The teacher writes:

You state that when you were a chUd juvenile delinquency was practically non-existent . . .Were you prevented from getting a job because ytxi were under age? Did you hang around street comers because you had no purpose in life? What better conditions for a child to get into trouble than sheer idleness. When we take into ae-mount the amount of families that have both parents working, thus leaving the child unsupervised, the potential for trouble is Increased.

The answer to these questions is that my childhood was spent on the Lower East Side of New Yoric, In a slum area, nc^ unlike that which now exists in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Bnx^lyn. I think that our area was physically worse. But we did work. As I recall It, I was an office-boy during the Summer when I was about 10 years old.

The other letter Is from an ' American In a smaller Italian city:

A short walk down any street wlU immediately Impress you with the difference. First these kids are polite. They arent obsequious or namby-pamby, but they are polite to one another as well as to meir elders. For another thing, they are all cleanly attired. You nev-er see side-bums, duck-tails, black leather jackets or any of the other accoutrements of the teen-age trouble maker. Even the youths from homes poorer than anything in Harlem take the trouble to look like civilized human beings. Finally, they behave with a sense of responsibility and decorum. . . ^

. . .We have paries, and they are enjoyed sensible to an extent no longer possible in places like New York, The lawns are intact. Some of them are beautiful mosaics of flowers. Es- ; peclally at this time of the year, the parks abound In flowering trees such as Japanese cherry and blooming almond. No one plucks up the flowers or carves initials into the trees. A woman could sleep the night through on a park bench without fear of molestation. The streets of the city are impeccable, too.. Even the narrow mediaeval alleys in our slum sections are clean enough to eat from. I have many times seen the women out at the crack of dawn, on their hands and knees, scrubbing the pavement in front of .their homes.

The place of the cop down here is almost remarkably dif-derent. Even though he has almost nothing to do because of the ridiculously low crime rate, he Is universally respected. . .

By American standards, these people are poor. But no matter how poor a family may be, there is always something for the cop on your beat at Christmas time. Attacking a policeman who is performing his duty just doesnt happen down here. Were a gang to kill a policeman, the gang ^ would be Ijmched and the cop would have a statue erected in his memory.

The correspondent adds:

Most of the people here have had their ancestors burled In this city for 500 or 1,000 years. Some of these people can trace themselves back to Roman antiquity. The city is theirs and they feel a part of It, and therefore responsible for Its welfare. Whereas Americans in even larger numbers are mi- , grating hither and yon about the country, Italians tend to stay close to their birthplaces. 'The woman who scrubs tha sidewalk in front of her door may do so because her family has lived in that buUding since before Columbus discovered . America. Possession and tradi- . tion build pride; and the pride remains no matter how decrepit its object becomes.

As long as the lonely crowd* of the large American cities continues to grow in size and Iotc-liness, delinquency will grow with it. On the other hand, the close famUy in a tightly knit, civlcally conscious neighborhood would tend to diminish the ultimate motives for juveniles becoming delinquent.

Actually what my correspOTd-ent from Italy deals with is respect and decency. Poverty need not cause disrespect although (Continued on page five)

No Match For

r

1

1 ounsts

By ELMER ROESSNER

The ynited State.s Travel Service is running fast after foreign travelers In Its campaign to encourage them to visit us. But it is no niatcli for the lean and .speedy Ame-j. an tourist who has decades of experience and training in sprinting to the cafes of Paris, to St. Peters in Rome and to the temples of Bangkok.

Holiday Newsletter estimates that outbound Americans in the first half of 1962 outnumber their 1961 countei-parts by about 15 per cent. Inbound foreign visitors to the States have Increased only 12 per cent.

The tourist situation has important effects on the inter national balance of payments be-t'ween the U. S. and all foreign coMiitries. \Vc had an $11 bll-llbn deficit in payments in *he .vcars 19,58-60. Approximately $;i billion of this ws due to In tcmatlonal travel.

The U. S. Travel Service has

been trying to compensate for Ihe heavy outflow of money jingling in their jeans to come here. So far. it seems to have hen only a valiant effort. The .siivice. though running hard, l.sii't even able to hold its place.

The handicap is worse than the figures Indicate. In actual number U.'S. tourists abroad usually number ju.st under 2,-(HM).(KK) a year. Bui tourists coming from abroad number only a little over the 600,000 mark. So a 15 per cent increase in American tourism means an actual rise of about .3(X).(X)0 more people traveling overseas. The 12 per cent gain in incoming tourl.sts comes out to a real Increase of about 75,(XX) extra foreigners visiting our shores.

In addition, the American tourist is usually better bauk-roDcd and more inclined to .spend than a foreign visitor to thf States. To top off the imbalance. Americans taking seai cniiscs to various destinations /

have Incroased 25 per cent tlus year. And they arent counted in the above figures.

Seafarers, aie usually very big spenders,

TWO-GAR FAMILY Tax WINDFALL

If yours is a two-car family and you need one car for busi-ne.s.s, then you can save sizable amounts in taxes by using , one car for business half the year and the other car for the other half.

According to the editors of Prentice-Hall Executives Tax Report, a man with two cars should use, and depreciate, both during the year. They claim that, under normal circumstances, your wife may drive her car 6,000 miles a year while you ma^ chalk up 36,000 in your business\ buggy.

By allornating the use of the cans, youll put on 21,000 on f'ach, of which ]8,00() aie for bu.sinoss purposes. Therefore. , each can be depreciated over

three years at 18-21 or 6-7ths, minus trade-in value. This is instead of full 100 per cent depreciation minus trade-in on one car.

Prentlce-Hall also notes this applies to gas, oil, repairs, maintOTance. Inscrance and carrying charges on both cars. Also on your two-car garage. SBA ACTIVITIES ARE ON UPSWING

They say it win workif you keep accurate records of usage.

The Small Business Administration continued to expand its activities during the last half of 1961.

The SBA approved a record 3,768 business loans worth more than $125.(XX).000 to help small firms expand, modernize and improve operations in the period. In addition, more than $l billion of proposed Govemment purcha.ses were set aside' for small bu.siness Investment companies. and more than 3,700 disaster loans were approved.