Evening star. [volume], August 23, 1963, Page A-9, Image 9

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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DAVID LAWRENCE
Rights March's Economic Costs
City's Business Community Is Believed
Entitled to Compensation for Losses
Millions of dollars will be
lost to merchants of retail
goods and to businesses of
various kinds on August 28
in this city because of the
fear of area residents to come
to downtown Washington on
that day during the “demon
stration” which will bring
from 100,000 to 250,000 per
sons to the streets of the
National Capital. Who is to
pay these losses? Why should
innocent citizens be penal
ized?
The mayor of a city usually
decides whether a permit to
parade or demonstrate will
interfere with a city’s normal
operations, and a permit is
granted or refused on the
basis of what the impact will
be on the commerce of the
community. This city has no
mayor because the residents
are not permitted to vote for
their local government. A
commission of three is ap
pointed by the President to
manage the affairs of the
District of Columbia. So, for
all practical purposes, the
President is virtually the
mayor here. The responsi
bility, therefore, for the losses
incurred by private citizens
rests with the Federal Gov
ernment.
Will Congress now pass a
bill permitting all businesses
to claim not just a deduction
but a tax credit for the entire
loss incurred? Most corpora
tions pay a 52 per cent tax
rate, which means that the
company itself bears 48 per
cent of a loss. Why shouldn't
the Government take care of
100 per cent of the loss when
the Government is respon
sible entirely for the grant
ing of an official permit
which allows a “demonstra
tion” to be held that fright
ens the populace and causes
it to avoid the stores that
day?
Many companies will find
that their employes will be
THE VACCINE STORY
Extreme Isolation Ended
‘ By FRANK CAREY
Associated Press Science Writer
When this reporter was a
boy in Lowell, Mass., some 45
years ago, all the children
would hold their noses and run
fast—on the other side of the
street—when they passed a
house bearing the fearsome
legend: “Scarlet Fever.”
Actually, we were in more
danger of getting the disease
from possible healthy “car
riers” among us than we were
from getting it from the poor
child who lay sick abed Inside
the house—his throat Inflamed
and his body covered with the
strawberry-red rash character
izing the fever.
Today, placarding of houses
where there are patients suf
fering from such infectious ills
as scarlet fever and diphtheria
is a real rarity.
For one thing, doctors have
learned over the last few dec
ades that strict Isolation of
the patient—to the extent of
keeping healthy people from
just going into the house, as
iistingulshed from actual close
contact with the patient—has
little effect in limiting the
spread of many diseases.
They feel, too, that in many
cases, a child can spread his
infection—in school, for exam
ple—before he himself comes
down with full-blown sickness.
Extreme Measures Gone
Besides, effective preventive
or treatment methods became
available over the years for the
one-time common killers like
scarlet fever and diphtheria.
And there's even suggestive
evidence—for scarlet fever at
least—that the causative germs
have lost much of their punch
in the last 50 years or so.
Gone with the scary placards
Angry Indians Taunt
Menon as a Traitor'
By RICHARD CRITCHFIELD
■tar Special Writer
NEW DELHI, India, Aug. 23.
—Discredited former Indian
Defense Minister Krishna
Menon unapolegetically de
fended his past policies before
Parliament yesterday amid
shouts of ‘triator’ and taunting
choruses of *hlnd-chlni bhai
bhai’ from an inflamed opposi
tion.
Mr. Me n o n’s 75-mlnute
speech climaxed four days of
debate ending in defeat, 348 to
61, of the first no-confidence
motion ever tabled against
Prime Minister Nehru’s gov
ernment.
Mr. Nehru, himself, twice
angrily rose to protest the up
roar against Mr. Menon as
"neither fair nor credible.”
Coming closer than he ever
has to denying he was a Com
munist, the former Defense
Minister rapped his critics for
labeling him a “crypto or con
cealed Communist.”
"You don’t attack my con
victions, you attack my char
acter,” he said, “And I treat
this charge with the disregard
it deserves.”
Mr. Menon has been widely
blamed by the Indian public
for the last fall's humiliating
defeats by Red China in the
Himalayas. Since then, Mr.
Menon has identified himself
openly with several pro-Com
muntot newspapers. One of
which he publishes himself.
scared to come to work. The
leaders of the “demonstra
tion” have been engaging in
a kind of doubletalk. While
promising that there will be
no violence, they speak in
terms that cause apprehen
sion. The advance publicity,
for instance, issued this week
from the office of the “March
on Washington,” quotes A.
Philip Randolph, director of
the “march,” as saying:
"Negroes will no longer
submit to humiliation, even
if it costs them their lives.”
The people of the Wash
ington area are, moreover,
being told not to go down
town if they can possibly
avoid it. Traffic conditions,
particularly at the entrances
to the city, will be difficult.
Many employes who live in
the suburbs have been asking
their employers what they
should do. Unquestionably,
thousands will stay home.
Who is to bear all this ex
pense?
It will be argued that this
“demonstration” is for a good
cause. But the Government
provides that charitable con
tributions to worthy causes
are deductible for income
tax purposes. No such provi
sion, however, has been made
to cover “contributions" to
the demonstration made in
voluntarily by employes as
well as employers. Since Con
gress is virtually the “board
of aidermen” for the District
of Columbia, it is contended
that Congress should take
care of the losses incurred by
innocent bystanders.
The Government already is
spending a good deal of
money to provide extra po
lice, to handle traffic and for
other expenses incidental to
the Washington “demonstra
tion.” This is being paid for
by the taxpayers of the coun
try. Some members of Con
gress are closing their offices
for the day and giving their
staff the day off, and it is
Lost of Thro* Articles
ire other extreme precau
tionary measures of the past—
now deemed to have been a
waste of time, energy and ner
vous tension. These include the
once widespread practice of
disinfecting entire houses, bed
clothes, books and furniture
after the patient recovered
from scarlet fever or diphthe
ria.
At doctors’ suggestion, ner
vous parents would burn sul
phur candles and even formal
dehyde in the home. And some
times, the door leading to the
sickroom would be covered with
abedsheet saturated with a
strong disinfectant such as ly
sol.
Yet in those days—before
knowledge of disease transmis
sion had reached its present
levels—the fears of parents,
and of doctors, were under
standable.
Diphtheria and scarlet fev
er—the latter known medical
ly as scarlatina had been
frightful sickeners and fre
quent killers for centuries.
Like diphtheria, scarlet fever
frequently occurred in epidemic
form.
Tied to Strep Germ
It wasn't until 1910 that
Russian scientists first fully
established that scarlet fever
was caused by some form of
streptococcus germ, and not
until 1924 that American scien
tists pinned down the particu
lar strains of strep responsible.
Meanwhile, epidemics or se
rious outbreaks occurred fre
quently in temperate and cold
climates of the world—with
milk being a common mode of
transmitting the germs in the
Mr. Menon admitted a po
litical decision was taken in
Delhi last October to drive the
Chinese out of Thagla ridge
along India's northeastern
frontier, possibly triggering
China’s massive Invasion. It
was the only proper thing to
do, Mr. Menon told Parliament.
“Is it for soldiers to decide
when to begin fighting?” he
asked. "I hope the Prime Min
ister will not offer any apology
for that and will assert the
supremacy of civil control over
the Army.”
In the uproar that followed
this remark, critics shouted:
“Are you the public relations
to the Prime Minister?" "How
can you, who have been found
guilty of the Nefa debacle,
make such a statement?
Defends Polley
Earlier, Mr. Menon said that
as a result of India’s nonalign
ment policy, China has found
herself Isolated in the world to
day and a number of countries
are standing in queue to sign
the atomic test-ban treaty.
“There is nothing to apolo
gize for in nonalignment, Mr.
Menon said. “When it to aban
doned India will start on the
road to perdition.
Mr. Nehru summed up the 41
speeches of the debate as in
teresting and profitable but a
little unreal since no alterna
tive government was offered by
the divided opposition.
being urged that this be done
throughout the Government,
with employes given “admin
istrative leave”—all at the
taxpayers’ expense. It would
appear that the generosity of
the taxpayers who are thus
footing the bills might at
least cover compensation to
the citizens here who actually
incur financial losses.
Whether the “demonstra
tion" will be peaceful is any
body’s guess. There are
church organizations of white
people in different parts of
the country which are send
ing so many of their mem
bers by buses and special
trains to participate that it
looks as if the “demonstra
tion” will be only partly com
posed of Negroes. The odds
would seem to be in favor of
its being a peaceful affair.
But, as the time for the
“march" approaches, the fears
of local residents have by no
means been dispelled.
No matter how peaceful it
turns out to be, the “demon
stration” will set a signifi
cant precedent. How can the
District of Columbia govern
ment now refuse a permit to
any organization, no matter
how unpopular its cause may
be, to carry on a "demonstra
tion” involving 100,000 or
more persons? The Constitu
tion, of course, recognizes the
"right of petition,” but this
can be exercised as effectively
by 60,000 people seated in a
football stadium, with a tele
vision broadcast of the
speeches made there, as it
can be by a street parade or
gathering of mobs.
There is nothing in the Con
stitution which says that the
“right of petition” includes
the right to disturb some
body’s business, even for one
day. But there is a clause in
the Constitution which says
that no person “shall be de
prived of life, liberty, or
property, without due process
of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public
use. without just compensa
tion.”
C 1983, N. Y. Benld Tribune. Inc.
days before pasteurization of
milk became well-established.
Case rates and death rates
ran high. For example, in New
York City alone in the period
1900-1904, there were 59,651
reported cases, with 4,152
deaths.
While national figures on the
number of cases in those days
are not readily available, the
mortality rate from scarlet fev
er in 1910 was 100 deaths per
one million population.
By 1935-1939, when the Pub
lic Health Service was listing
scarlet fever cases together
with septic sore throat cases—
also caused by strep germs—
the death rate for both ills to
gether had dropped to 14 per
million population. But the
number of cases averaged
about 200,000 annually.
Sulfa Drugs Cut Toll
It was around 1939 that the
sulfa drugs first came into use,
and the death toll from strep
infections began to drop sharp
ly. Later, penicillin and other
antibiotic wonder drugs came
along in the 1940 s—accounting
for a really dramatic drop in
the strep toll.
Today, while the incidence of
strep Infections is at least sev
eral hundred thousand a
year with some estimates
going as high as 800,000—the
death rate has dropped to few
er than one death per million
population.
Scarlet fever is due to a par
ticular breed of strep which ex
udes a poisonous toxin. The
strep bug alone can cause the
sore throat and certain other
symptoms of the disease, but
it’s the toxin that causes the
rash.
Saying that scarlet fever now
ranks as a relatively mild di
sea s e—although complica
tions, such as rheumatic fever,
are still to be guarded
against— doctors say there's at
least suggestive evidence that
the toxin-producing powers of
the bug have gradually les
sened during the last 50 years.
Risk In Vaccine
Within the last quarter-cen
tury. a vaccine has become
available which can prevent
the rash of scarlet fever. But it
does not prevent infection by
strep germs, so doctors don't
recommend its use except in
certain Instances —for exam
ple, for nurses and interns in
hospitals.
Doctors feel that since pow
erful drug weapons are now
ava 11 ab 1 e to treat, and even
prevent, various kinds of strep
infection, including the scarlet
fever kind, widespread use of
the vaccine is not Indicated.
Besides, there are certain risks
to its use.
Thus, in the story of vaccines
against diseases, scarlet fever is
an example of an ailment
where it’s more practical to
treat it than to try to prevent
it with a vaccine.
Another childhood disease
chicken pox—is so mild in it
self that there's no crying need
to try to develop a vaccine.
But the causative virus was
Isolated about 10 years ago.
and scientists would like to de
velop a vaccine or some other
preventive for this reason?
The chicken plx virus may
lie dormant for decades in an
individual who has recovered
from chicken pox—and then
occasionally cause a disease
known as shingles.
BILL MAULDIN'S CARTOON
' v: '
' feOLw IWBS
•where are the snows of vester-year?*
potolaac fever
By FLETCHER KNEBEL
Our foreign aid program has worked wonders in South
Viet Nam. Now if it can just work a miracle—so we can
get out of there with our lives.
• •
Scientists differ on the test-ban treaty, which shows the
fix we’re in. Without science to guide us, we may have to
figure this thing out on its merits.
** * *
Congress okays a debt ceiling of $309 billion. We now
owe $305 billion. Question of the hour: “Who’s got a quick
idea on how to blow the other four?"
•• * •
Q —Who launched the campaign against litterbugs?
A—JFK in 1960. Remember his crusade to pick this country
up again?
*• • •
Dr. Teller fears a test ban will keep us from perfecting
a defense against missiles. Instead of the missile gap, we’ve
now got to worry about the anti-missile missile gap.
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See the national ?
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Sunday, August 25th
l&Vi 1 <t JUKL &
DORIS FLEESON
Congress Feels Strike Deadline
Rail Issue Becomes Urgent Business
With the Civil Rights March Nearing
The most anxious congres
sional conversations now tak
ing place are not about the
test-ban treaty, foreign aid,
or the crises in South Viet
Nam and the Middle East,
but about the new break
down in the railroad work
rules negotiations.
Unless some way can be
found to settle the dispute
or freeze it for awhile, the
threatened strike will start
at 12:01 a.m.. August 29.
That is only a few hours
after the massive civil rights
demonstration here is sup
posed to disperse.
The immense problems in
herent in the size and scope
of the demonstration are
being handled in an extraor
dinary display of official and
civil planning. What is per
haps most remarkable is the
understanding being shown
by Washington residents and
its business community.
Individually and severally,
they are voluntarily taking
steps to see that the difficul
crowds are minimized.
These steps amount to a one
day holiday for thousands of
workers and are made nec
essary by the relatively
small space in the heart of
the city which the demon
stration will pre-empt.
There are some signs that
in other cities the demon
stration is viewed as a spec
tacle, even a circus, merit
ing the attention of sight
seers. Politically sophisticated
Washington knows better. It
recognizes the proposed
march as a civil demonstra
tion which, with malice
aforethought in some quar
ters, or even just a little
bad luck, could turn into a
civil disturbance.
Congress recognized this
promptly. It was soon agreed
that it should stay on the job
and hold at least token ses
sions.
THE EVENING STAR
Washington, D. C., Friday, August 23, 1963
The present nightmare of
the leaders is that they will
find themselves working un
der the guns of a railroad
strike during the hours they
hope to put on a quietly re
assuring picture to the dem
onstrators of serene men at
work.
Procrastination is the be
setting sin of any Congress,
and this one in particular.
Its key figures do recognize
how very high in emotional
content could be a joining
of railroad debate and the
looming presence of civil
rights demonstrators who
must find ways to reach
home could be.
They now plan to spend
the morning seeing the
march leaders. They have or
dered that the galleries are
to be cleared every 15 min-
CPAs Program
Is Underway
A staff training program for
certified public accountants is
under way at the University of
Maryland.
Sponsored jointly by the
D. C. Institute of CPAs, the
Maryland Association of CPAs
and the university, the course
is designed to provide two se
mesters of graduate training in
two weeks.
It Includes lectures, discus
sions and problem-solving ses
sions. The final event is a
luncheon banquet August 30,
to be addressed by Andrew
Barr, chief accountant of the
Securities and Exchange Com
mission.
Fair at Church
The annual fair sponsored
by the Church of the Epiphany,
5530 Ritchie road S.E., will be
held from 3 to 7 p.m. tomorrow
in the church's new parish
hall.
utes August 28 so that no
claques can entrench them
selves and the visitors ex
pected can get an equal
chance to look on. “
Such details are typical of
the advance planning here.
It echoes that of the march
leaders who are even telling.
their people what kind of.'
sandwiches it is best to carry.
Adding to the general con
gestion will be 8,000 police, 1 ?
members of the Fire Depart-i1
ment. Army and Marine, -
units and National Guards- „
men. The proclaimed intent
is to insure a peaceful dem- ' 1
onstration.
Not even inaugural crowds '
have presented a like prob- -
lem. Besides, the temper of y
such crowds is gay as they,
are made up principally of ‘
the victorious whose labors 3
and expenditures have been .*
rewarded and who anticipate y
continuing benefits.
District to Take ■
Federal Grant
The District Commissioners •
have voted to accept a $13,039
Federal grant to establish t"
central registry of the blind"
and persons with conditions
which might lead to blindness.;
Their acceptance was made
contingent upon receipt of a,,
congressional appropriation for
the District’s cost of maintain
ing the register. $2,390 per yeas.-
Agencies working with the
blind know very little about the.
magnitude of blindness, its
causes and the characteristics
of its victims, the Commission--
ers were told by Leonard M.i
Hill, deputy director of voca
tional rehabilitation for the
District.
He told reporters that there'
are an estimated 3,000 blind’,
persons in the District and an
unknown number of "poten- J
tlally blind." This is the second
highest incidence of blindness
per capita among thev ariouS
States, he added. ij
A-9