Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 85, Ed. 1 Monday, January 24, 1972 Page: 4 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 21 x 15 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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Emotional rights fading away?
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Letter to the editor
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it capital punishment should be rejected. While
I indeed need protection, the wrong doer should be
'Give' steering
posts get a plus
BROWNWOOD BULLETIN
Off to the Polls
Nationalization is
looming for rails
position
society t
the object ‘of every kind of effort to redeem and rehabilitate.
The occasion for a change in his behavior is forever eliminated
when society chooses to kill him.
"They Soy She's Legal!"
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on Nixon-China
The lifesaving value of automobile safety belts has
pretty well been established Now researchers at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina have inquired into the effec-
tiveness of energy-absorbing steering wheel columns in
accidents, both by themselves and in conjunction with the
wearing of lap belts
The columns, commonly but inaccurately called “col-
lapsible.” have been installed by all U.S. automakers
since 1967, except Ford, which began putting them on
1968 models They are required by federal law on all
cars.
The Highway Research Center at Chapel Hill, N.C., has
found that energy-absorbing steering columns and lap
belts together can reduce the frequency of serious injury
to drivers in crashes by about 52 per cent, reports the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The columns were found to be most effective at
medium speeds—about 30 to 49 miles an hour—and less
effective at higher or lower speeds
It is estimated that some 300,000 drivers died before
their time bv being impaled on steering columns before
Detroit switched to the energy-absorbing devices
companies to the tune of $750,000 a year in advertising,
the substance of which is that chemicals hold the answer
to all of life's problems. No one is supposed to be tired or
anxious any more, or to feel grief or sorrow or worry
“We are rapidly losing our emotional civil rights and
becoming a drugged society through overprescription and
overuse of these mind-altering drugs,” warns Breckbill
He thinks that in this day of wonder electronics as well
as wonder drugs the least we can do is keep track of the
prescriptions—who writes them, who fills them, who uses
them.
So far, however, he has received little encouragement
from either state or federal officials.
By JIMMY R. ALLEN
Arguments are being heard before the United States
Supreme Court on one of America’s moat sensitive moral
issues society ’s right to kill. The issue of capital punishment
has persons of strong moral conscience arguing on each side
It is a complex issue which demands the best thinking of
conscientious citizens.
Almost 700 men ui prison cells across «pr nation are hanging
on every word of the debate These are the ones who are wider
death sentence at the present tune The practice of capital
punishment has been virtually abandoned in our nation in
recent years. The lives of these men are at stake in the
decisions which will be made by the Supreme Court.
No ore is really satisfied with the current state of limbo in
the practice of capital punishment in our society opponents of
the practice feel that it ought to be declared a cruel and
unusual punishment in the atmosphere of conscience of
modern society Proponents of the practice feel that swift and
sure punishment is essential as the deterrent of crime. They
contend that the failure to carry through with capital punish-
ment has robbed it of its deterrent value The situation should
resolve itself with the current Court's decision.
Most of the advocates of capital punishment who use
scriptural arguments tenter their biblical authority on Old
Testament laws The Old Testament does indeed justify
capital punishment The New Testament is silent on the issue.
The problem with citing Old Testament authority lies in the
fact that it justifies killing people for crimes in far too broad
and inclusive a fashion. Executions were justified for those
who cursed their parents as well as for those who committed
murder, rape, or adultery Few people in our modern per-
missive society want to apply capital punishment in Old
Testament fasiion. It would decimate a good segment of our
citizenship.
Far more persuasive arguments for capital punishment lie
in other directions. The basic contention is that the threat of
the death penalty prevents crime. There are actual instances
of arrest of criminals who refuse to carry weapons for fear of
the electric chair Another contention is that the standard of
justice for a society must be upheld and that there are some
crimes so heinous that mm who commit than forfeit their right
to live.
Opponents of capital punishment challenge the assertion
that crime is deterred by its threat. They cite studies in areas
at our nation and our world in which capital punishment has
been eliminated. Capital crime does not increase where
capital punishment is abandoned.
To the argument that society must be protected by the use of
capital punishment, opponents cite the fact that most murders
are crimes of passion between acquaintances Few murderers
would murder again. Those who would fall into two classes
the criminally insance who need treatment or professional
criminals who seldom are caught.
The possibility of a miscarriage of justice haunts a society as
it faces this issue. One has difficulty escaping the fact that it
was the practice of capital punishment which produced
history's greatest miscarriage of justice: the crucifixion of
Jesus Christ.
Good people in all sincerity will disagree on whether capital
punishment should be practiced in a society The issue must be
dealt with. A central question for Christians is what Jesus
would doj a particular situation I find myself driven to the
3"
Threat of starfish
gone for coral reef
We can all breathe a little more easily; the starfish
crisis has passed.
It began, as every amateur ecologist will recall.a few
years ago when a species of starfish, the Crown of Thorns,
suddenly staged a population explosion throughout the
Pacific Ocean Since the animals fed on live coral, they
threatened the coral reefs in many areas, including the
Hawaiian Islands and Australia.
Great publicity attended the crisis. Some scientists im-
mediately theorized that natural balances in the ocean
had been upset by man-made pollution with DDT and
other substances Diving clubs sent out teams to inject
starfish with nerve poisons. All that was lacking was a
crash congressional program to “conquer” the Crown of
Thorns although Congress did pass a bill introduced by
Hawaii Republican Sen Hiram Fong requesting some $5
million to combat the invaders
Now, just as suddenly and mysteriously, the threat has
passed. with no help from man.
“It now appears that the Crown of Thorns is getting
back to where it used to be,” says Dr. John E. Bardach,
director of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, in an
interview with science writer Sandra Blakeslee “It was
probably a natural event that has occurred in the past
and it will occur again.”
It is impossible, he says, to connect the outbreak to any
one or combination of man-made influences The starfish
population explosion occurred in many places where
human activity was absent.
One thing it does show, however, is what happens when
people try to solve problems through "bio-political"
means.
“There is no such thing as instant ecology," says Bar-
dach "But unfortunately, politicians need steam for their
engines."
WASHIN
is a look al
fiscal 1973 ■
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DEFICITS
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By BRUCE BIOSSAT
WASHINGTON (NEA)
Though Japan is still deeply doubtful as to President
Nixon’s China intentions its official warnings of the
danger to U S Japanese ties could be read too darkly
here
The sturm flags went up after the peril was candidly
voiced Jan 10 in San Francisco by Japan's V S ambas-
sador. H E Nobuhiko Ushiba
He said the President s February visit to China could
either contrihute to the peace and stability of Asia or be
the start of a process of unraveling our mutual security
in the Far East ”
Ushiba s alarms are, at course, meant seriously Prime
Minister Sato learned nothing of Nixon's purposes at
Peking when he came to San Clemente Japan's fresh
taste of U.S silence could only underscore resentment
at being "left out" of consultations last summer, when
the Peking visit was announced
Yet realism runs strongly in Japan At San Francisco
Ushiba stressed, amid the warnings, that our two coun-
tries are highly interdependent for their security " He
called our common interests extraordinarily close '
Moreover I am advised by Japanese officials who were
at San Clemente that their government did take genuine
reassurance from Nixon respecting security safeguards
for vulnerable Taiwan and South Korea The Japanese
say they are convinced we will continue to hold our elves
responsible for the defense of those two Asian free world
outposts
This matter is of immense significance Even a mili-
tarily stronger Japan can't easily play a broad defense
role in Asia in the aftermath of World War II, other
Asians do not want it, and the Japanese know and accept
the fact
Japan's trade and security bonds with Korea are grow-
ing But those with Taiwan are more crucial. Tokyo's
commerce with that island ranges around $1 billion year-
ly It wants to see it flourish more And the Japanese
don’t relish a Peking take-over of so plainly vital a Pacific
security bastion
if America is indeed still the avowed protector of these
places, then Tokyo can surely feel more secure than in
1971
On the issue of Taiwan, there could be further mis-
reading in U S circles of Japanese intentions, as disclosed
in an American columnist's recent interview with Foreign
Minister Fukuda
Fukuda says Japan is ready to wipe out its peace treaty
with Taiwan, as a necessary step in normalizing” its re-
lations with Peking.
But Fukuda’s words require careful study and elabora-
tion He also said Japan would not abrogate that treaty
until Peking actually has begun normalizing talks Yet
the Chinese have created an impasse by saying they
won't start talking until the treaty is killed
Japanese sources here insist that if this stalemate con-
tinues the Sato government can argueseffectively at home
that with its offer to cancel the pact, it has done every-
thing reasonable to open the way to restoration of old ties
Contrary to some interpretations, the Japanese are not
trying to rush into the arms of China, either out of natural
inclination or in anger over the "Nixon shocks” of 1971.
The government's moves toward normalizing do not
mean a newly independent Japan is looking for a new
friend in Peking Internal pressure from arch-liberal
forces is said to compel the gestures But the government
is stoutly anti-Communist It thinks the country is, too.
and that pressures for a one-sided yielding to Peking s
demands can be resisted successfully
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in one month in the state at Ohio $84,000 worth of
tranquilizers were dispensed to welfare recipients More
taxpayer money went to the doctors prescribing these
mind-altering drugs.
This is only one fact out of a whole arsenal of them
assembled by a private citizen who has launched a per-
sonal campaign against drug abuse
Frank D Breckbill of Canton, Ohio, is a real estate ap
praiser for a utility company, but his concern with drug
abuse and a desire not to use or see others used for
greed" has led him through reading, study and consulta
tion with chemists, pharmacists, doctors, politicians and
others to become, if not an expert, certainly highly
knowledgeable in this field Some others of his facts
• In Ohio alone. 25 per cent of all prescriptions written
each day are for psychoactive drugs.
• In the city of Cleveland, stolen prescription pads sell
for $50
• In the nation as a whole, 16 per cent of the total legal
output of amphetamines (diet pills I in one recent year
were “unaccounted for,” reported the federal Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. The current rate of
diversion may be as high as 30 per cent.
• From 50 to 80 per cent of confiscated drugs have
been found to have been legally manufactured.
• One out of every 20 hospital admissions today is due
to adverse reactions to legal drugs
What Breckbill proposes is a computerized dangerous
drug inventory and monitoring plan to keep track of
every pill every step of the way from legal manufac-
turer to user.
Doctors prescribing mind- or behavior-altering drugs
would include the Social Security number of the patient
on the prescription The pharmacist would require the
Social Security card of the patient for identification and
have him sign a multiple-copy form. Later, the pharma-
cist would complete the form and send one copy to the
computer center.
The plan, says Breckbill, would give us the means of
detecting forgeries, unethical doctors or druggists, illegal
copies of prescriptions and multiple contacts by patients
for the same medication from different physicians. He
estimates that the $84,000 spent in one month for tran-
quilizers for welfare recipients would run the computer
program in Ohio for nearly three months.
Drug abuse is not just a youth problem, says Breckbill
it is also an adult problem. It is not just marijuana or
heroin It is also barbiturates and amphetamines and the
even more potent methamphetamines—“Speed ' It in-
volves not just the social dropout. The average person can
fall victim to drugs, too.
According to the Bureau of Narcotics, over 10 million .
housewives use some kind of stimulant or depressant
legally prescribed by their physicians and upon which
they may be to some degree dependent
Physicians in turn are being propagandized by drug
48
By RAY CROMLEY
WASHINGTON (NEA)
It is altogether possible the nation s railroads will be
nationalized within the next half-dozen years The pas-
senger business has already been taken over The plight
of the Penn-Central Railroad has caused some law-
makers to look at the industry with jaundiced eyes
if past experience in other countries is any test, na-
tionalization of the rails would cost the U S taxpayer
heavily in open and hidden subsidies for operatingdeficits
each year
This would be a pity. For the railroad industry has
within itself the capacity for highly efficient and profit
able operation Both rail and independent analysts this
reporter has contacted see no reason why the railroads
cannot—under the proper conditions—carry their share
of the nation’s freight at reasonable cost on reliable
schedules while making a profit large enough to en-
courage development.
But this ideal situation is on paper Shippers complain
their goods don't arrive on schedule, that when they are
delivered, breakage is high.
The railroads say they can't correct their deficiencies
until they can get more money. They say that they can’t
afford the new equipment, the heavy computerization
and the maintenance standards necessary.
The rails say they can't borrow the funds they need
(except for a few "rich" roads) because they’re in such
bad shape financially banks consider them a poor risk.
They'd like to have government-guaranteed loans
similar in concept to the FHA ( Federal Housing Admin-
istration! guarantees the government puts up, for a fee.
for home buyers
Freight cars are old and in sad repair on many lines,
and since these cars get shunted through the national
system, the efficiency of all is lowered Locomotives are
tired
But worst of all are the inefficient methods some rail
lines use in keeping track of cars on their runs and in
getting shipments to destinations. Here again, inefficient
lines slow the whole system.
But the railroads say they have an equally great prob
lem in their pricing-what they're allowed to charge
shippers The problem here is delay Important price
changes. they claim. can take as long as seven months
to get through the mill at the Interstate Commerce Com-
mission
Though many price changes are granted quickly, there
are sufficient delays on the major shifts that railway
economists estimate profits could be doubled if they
were allowed to make temporary (interim) price adjust
ments immediately when recognized cost increases ' such
as wage boosts) raise their expenditures These costs are
almost always allowed, the railways say, but the bureau-
cratic delays in approving the higher rates (while ex
penses go up and income stays level), they claim, costs
America's rail lines $250 million a year
What the railroads would really like is for the govern-
ment to make a study and determine in what goods and
in what areas the rails no longer have a monopoly, be-
cause of trucks or barge lines Then for these highly
competitive goods, the rails would be allowed to move
prices up or down without waiting This they do not
expect to get
It would be good for the country if the members of the
House and Senate learned the details of those proposals
"e l
Monday January 24, till
Right of society
to take a life )
Japan realistic
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I f V CO"/
Dear Editor:
As a parent of several Brown County 4H participants, I want .
to sincerely thank you for the coverage and interest The
Bulletin displayed toward the Youth Fair. Especially, am I
delighted with the article on the front page of Sunday's issue
depicting the individual concerns contributing to the sale of
each project. Such detailed information is often valuable when
planning for next years show, along with patronage throughout
the year.
Today, the wholesome, rewarding experiences of youth are
often pushed in the background by the news of violence and
drug usage of those in the same age category. Making the
public aware of the training the Brown County youth are
receiving through your efforts, is certainly gratifying to the
ones responsible for their guidance.
Mrs Juanell Wright
Box 1429
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Fisher, Norman. Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 72, No. 85, Ed. 1 Monday, January 24, 1972, newspaper, January 24, 1972; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1574828/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Brownwood Public Library.