Seventy-Sixth Year
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Black Power and Broken Promises
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THURSAY, ULY 4, 166 NGHT DITO: PA --ONHU
THURSDAY, JULY'14, 1966
NIGHT EDITOR, : PAT O'DONOHUE
Medicaid Helps The Poor
And The Not-So-Poor
T HE CRY about "black power"
which is dividing the Negro
population so sharply has oc-
curred, we must note, as the bright
hopes of last year have given way
to a bleak realization that pro-
gress is stalled.
The argument about "black
power" is an argument about how
the Negroes can restore the mo-
mentum of progress in obtaining
better housing and better schools,
which were the promises of 1965.
THE NEGRO militants, who
speak to the deep poverty and
wretchedness of the ghettos, are
arguing that progress can be push-
along only by the use of Negro
votes, boycotts and angry de-
fiance. The Negro moderates stake
their hopes on votes, persuasion
and nonviolent civil disobedience
and demonstration.
The cruel fact of the matter is
that neither tactic will work under
present war conditions. The basic
reality is that the 22 million Ne-
groes, though a large number, are
only about 10 per cent of the
nation. Obviously they cannot
coerce the huge majority, and
they have no power of any kind
which, if exercised recklessly, will
not bring on severe reprisals and
repression.
The Negro minority does not
have the votes and it does not
have the economic resources to
create a "black power" which will
bring them the reforms which
they need, which they deserve,
which they have been promised.
THE POSITION of the Ameri-
can Negro is in important respects
unique. Thus, unlike the Indians
who followed Gandhi, the Ameri-
can Negroes are not a huge ma-
jority resisting a small alien group
of rulers. All forms of partition,
liberation and independence which
have been practiced by other racial
communities in Africa and Asia
are unavailable for the American
Negro.
In the end there is for black
and white Americans alike no
alternative to coexistence, and
there is no basis for coexistence
except a genuine and sustained
progress toward better conditions
of life. This progress is possible
only if the great white majority
Today
ant
Tomorrow
By WALTER LIPPMANN
MEDICAID was an obscure product of
last year's Social Security amend-
ments, but the way it is being received,
it appears that it may be an efficient
and therapeutic remedy for the real ills
of the poor.
Medicaid has several powerful ingred-
ients. It has "medically indigent" writ-
ten into its language, which means that
a nearly unlimited range of truly needy
Americans can qualify for medical treat-
ment they have never had before.
Medicaid clears the bureaucratic con-
gestion of some previous poverty pro-
grams providing special assistance to
such groups as dependent children, the
blind, and the elderly.
MFDICAID WILL STIMULATE states to
administer creative and beneficial aid
programs.
Its main ingredient is health for peo-
ple who could never afford to be healthy.
It innately lacks the embellishments that
have fed poverty program leeches in the
past. There will be little free money, few
needless expenses.
At the top of the program, the federal
government will pay at least half of med-
icaid costs for wealthy states and as much
as 83 per cent of the costs of poorer
states.
To qualify for the program, states must
produce facilities for hospital care, out-
patient service, doctors' service, nursing
for adults, and laboratory and X-ray serv-
ice. But the states themselves can pre-
scribe much more, like dental, optical,
and rehabilitation service.
Administering the programs will be
American doctors, who will be tending the
poor. They will mail bills to local welfare
agencies, who will pay them with federal-
state funds.
THIS IS WHERE the confusion is. The
Wall Street Journal quotes one physi-
cian saying "I'll treat them free before
I'll get involved in this mess."
Insurance dealers are afraid the leg-
islation will result in slackening subscrip-
tion in private insurance by those who
can afford it.
Nine states have set up medicaid pro-
grams. Two, New York and California,
have set such loose standards that legis-
lators fear that Title 19 will result in gal-
loping endowments to individuals who
may be able to pay their own doctor bills.
In California, medicaid has more than
doubled the number eligible for medical
assistance. This will be 13 per cent of the
population.
In New York, financial eligibility is
not related to liquid assets like home and
automobile ownership. If their program
is approved by the Department of Health,
Education and Welfare, over 8 million
will be eligible, according to Dow Jones
figures.
THE DANGER-and it may be a pleasant
danger-is that some of the not-so-
poor may be treated through welfare
funds, as well as the "medically indigent."
But figures indicate that many pension-
ers and others without sweeping insur-
ance would be bankrupt by hospitaliza-
tion.
Medicaid, then, may save the personal
economies of many fairly independent
senior citizens and workingmen. Some col-
lege students may even qualify for med-
icaid.
ALTHOUGH IT DOES imply galloping
spending, medicaid will result in eco-
nomical administration of medical assist-
ance, increasing funds for medical treat-
ment and trimming administration.
Its language indicates that it will get
into the bloodstream of the poor. And
since physicians will be administering it
to the poor, it will be potent and person-
alized.
Prescribed in intelligent doses, medicaid
funds need not deteriorate insurance in-
vestments of those who can afford and
benefit by subscribing to them.
MEDICAID IS SWEEPING legislation,
more so than the medicare enacted at
the same time.
If carried out as conscientiously at all
levels as it has been by federal authori-
ties and several states, it will be a cure
far more effective for the poor than
chicken broth programs of the past.
--NEAL BRUSS
Fal-Safe
In Virgnia
YOU'VE REALLY GOT to feel sorry for
Sen. Harry F. Byrd, Jr. in the light of
his conservative organization's hefty de-
feat at the Virginia polls yesterday. As a
matter of fact, he was about the only
member of it to survive the primaries, and
that by a narrow margin.
One would hope he doesn't take the
blow too seriously. After all, his isn't the
first old machine that's refused to run on
new gas.
-L.P.
supports the progressive reforms
and approves of active collabora-
tion between the races in carrying
out the reforms.
In other words, there is in the
deeply interrelated problems of
urbanization and Negro progress
no alternative to a politics of con-
sensus. The great promise of the
Johnson election of 1964 was that
our most serious internal problems
would be treated by persuasion
and debate and peaceful argument
and that we would avoid racial
and class warfare.
THE HOPE that this highly ra-
tional and civilized way was pos-
sible rested not merely on the
political skill of Mr. Johnson, but
on the prospect that with proper
management the expansion of the
economy could continue.
If it did continue,there were in
sight sufficiently large surpluses
of tax revenue, more than enough
to finance the reforms which were
promised, These reforms, in hous-
ing, schools, hospitals, jobs, parks,
playgrounds, were to provide a
continual proof that the problems
were soluble by consensus.
As we know, the tax surpluses
which were to finance the internal
progress do not exist. The war is
consuming them. Although Ne-
groes are benefiting from the tight
labor market, the movement
toward better housing, better
schools, better hospitals and the
like slowed down or stalled. It is
possible to show, as some pro-
gressive economists do, that by
raising taxes consumer spending
could be reduced and the reforms
financed despite the war.
BUT THIS will not be done, the
austere and unselfish policy will
not be adopted. The crude truth
is that the great majority of us,
for the most part white, who are
safely beyond the poverty line
will resist higher taxes in order to
helpkthe poor, so many of them
black.
The Johnson consensus of 1965
was based on the economic calcu-
lation that the reforms could be
financed by economic growth. The
rich would not have less; they
would have even more, but not
quite so much more. This was the
material foundation of the hope
that a Great Society could be built
by consensus.
THE INDO-CHINESE war (it is
no longer merely a South Viet-
namese war) has destroyed the
material foundations of all the
hopes that preceded it. The foun-
dations of a progressive society
will not soon or easily be rebuilt.
For the President has never ex-
plained to the nation, and may
not himself have fully appreciated,
what are the commitments and
the costs of the global crusade
into which he has plunged us and
of the forward strategy in the
Pacific which he seems to coun-
tenance.
(C), 1966, The Washington Post Co.
At.
$
After Four Years- Well,
Whadja Learn?'
By MICHAEL DITKOWSKY
TOWARD THE END of the
fourth year in college, one is
inevitably asked, "Well, whadja
learn in college?" The question
certainly is fair in light of the
thousands of dollars in investment
and years of preparation and frus-
tration that have gone into what
some have hoped would be a nec-
essary and profitable experience.
The rub is, however, that the
question is too often posed in
terms of observable black and
white statistics. the kind which
ask for a grade-point and an ac-
ceptance slip into some graduate
school. Unfortunately, these people
have a harmful 'tunnel vision"
toward what the educational pro-
cess entails. and to answer ques-
tions in their framework neces-
sitates a flat, "Nothing!"
FOR ME the strict classroom
experience has been a somewhat
stifling and stale process of almost
mindless regurgitation on the part
of both students and teachers.
Perhaps there have been one or
two classes that have come close
to stimulating an interest in the
subject matter, but these have
been rare.
Grade-point for myself hasre-
versed and evolved to a position
where it is incidental to what I
am really looking for in four years
of undergraduate work. In many
ways this position can become
precarious in a large university;
for me it has become a necessary
position.
It is becoming obvious that the
strict educational-classroom pro-
cess, (one which too many people
think is-the whole) has left me
embittered and wanting. Thus,
in most instances the mind boggles
before the original question,
"Whadja Learn?"
WHAT HAVE I learned? How
do I justify investment. frustra-
tion and hopefulness which in
some cases has not been my own.
A start would be that an aware-
ness of what a person doesn't like
can be just as valuable as finding
what you are suited for, perhaps
even more so. If becoming a grad-
uate student means a compromise
of values and entails skills as a
steno, then I have to opt out.
In many ways a seemingly nega-
tive experience .has prompted me
toward a real and valid aware-
ness of what my life ambitions are
to be. They are not to be with
people whom I do not respect nor
in a field in which I am not in-
terested. Hopefully it will be in an
area where a premium is put on
creativity and honesty.
Thus, in four years, a word like
integrity has become less loose
and ephemeral and more an at-
titude which looks for a construc-
tive and searching appraisal of
how four years of school will af-
fect my life.
THROUGHOUT the better part
of high school I had an empty
angry feeling in my stomach. I
did not really feel like plotting for
my future or studying for my col-
lege boards as a freshman. Hence.
rebellion of a sort.
Last week I went back to my
high school and was asked for a
hall-pass. The same empty angry
feeling came back, yet, four years
at the University has enabled me
to answer why I feel this way. I
was and am angry because of the
way students are herded and
coerced into a production line
that begins in grammar school
progressing into all levels of edu-
cation and finally "society."
It makes me angry to see the
way many students have to suffer
because of an unbelieveably tyran-
nical and wasteful system. I will
not be given a grade-point for
these attitudes and feelings, nor
will a certain amount of invest-
ment insure a constructive anger.
I have learned that, while young
people are still young, they can get
into ruts which have no real quali-
tative differences from the ruts
of forty-five year old businessmen.
I have learned that a few years
away from school might and can
be a fruitful experience, and I
have learned that this responsi-
bility lies primarily with myself.
THIS LAST POINT reminds me
of a series of questions Paul Good-
man was once asked at Antioch
College. Upon being asked the
value of the high school, Good-
man retorted that it must alleviate
the harmful aspects of the gram-
mar school. He was then asked the
value of the college and univer-
sity. After a momentary reflection
Goodman answered, "Well, I guess
it's to alleviate the harmful as-
pects of the high school." The next
question never came but it does
follow, "Who or what alleviates
the harmful aspects of the col-
lege?"
Hopefully, I have learned that
it is a responsibility that lies with
the individual, and one that can
lead to a more fruitful and stimu-
lating life. It doesn't show up on
transcripts or in money invested.
'Turning On' to Our Modern Realities
By LEW ALPREN
collegiate Press Service
"C'OME ON IN. son. Put down
your picket, take off those
dirty sandals and make yourself
comfortable. Sit over there on the
couch. I see here that you seem to
be having a few problems. Well
don't worry about a thing, son,
we'll have you well adjusted in a
50-minute hour."
"Look Doc, it ain't me that's
having the problems, it's the rest
of the world. War, bigotry, im-
morality, conformity, that's what
I'm protesting about. I'm one of
the few well adjusted ones."
"WELL THAT'S JUST what we
are going to talk about. I want to
ask you a few questions, so just
relax and answer them as honestly
as you can. You can smoke if you
like."
"Can I turn on?"
"If you feel you have to. No,
thank you, I have my own. Let me
ask you this, why do you smoke
those thingsr?"
"Oh, when I turn on, the world
becomes beautiful?"
"Oh, so you think this is an ugly
world?"
"Exactly. But when I turn on,
man, its Central Park in the snow.
It's F.A.O. Schwartz at Christmas
time. It's Cape Cod at dawn. The
stars shine, the wind blows, and
the rain feels fresh and cool."
"BUT ALL THESE things exist
in the real world. Why do you
have to turn on to enjoy them?
Why don't you just go up to Cen-
tral Park instead of having nar-
cotic fantasies?"
"Because, Doc, if I go up to
Central Park, I'm not going to be
able to have jelly applestand
carry balloons. I won't be able to
make faces at the monkeys at the
zoo. And even if I'm by myself and
sit by the lake, someone on the
other side will spit in it. How can
I go up to Central Park, Doc;
there's people there,"
"What's the m a t t e r with
people?"
"People spoil everything, Doc.
They talk during moments of
silence, they move when every-
thing is still, they sneeze. they
wheeze, they stutter, they lie . ..!"
"So you hate people, huh? Well,
there must be a reason. Think
back and try to remember, what
is it that makes you hate people?"
"I think it's because they were
always betraying me,"
"Betraying you? What do you
mean by that?"
"WELL, ALL MY LIFE they've
been betraying me. When Batman
became my hero they called him a
homosexual. They fed me cran-
berries with my turkey, then they
said it caused cancer. They told
me to share my candy with my
friends, then they changed Three
Musketeers, so I couldn't. They
made me watch Wink Dink but
they never let me draw on the
screen. Everything I loved, every-
thing I cherished, they spoiled."
"I see what you mean, son, but
everybody goes through it. It's
part of growing up. How do you
think I felt when I was a boy?
People trading in horses for auto-
mobilies. The World Series being
fixed. May Day riots, getting chas-
ed home from school by the other
kids because I wore knickers. How
do you think I felt when kick-the-
can went out; when Coolidge
chose not to run? I screamed, I
Protested, but in the end, I ad-
justed."
"But how can you adjust, Doc?
The Bathroom Conference:
White House Cure-All
STOP WORRYING-about Viet Nam, the
airline strike, the heat wave - there is
a panacea, to be supplied by LBJ as
usual.
That old standby, the bathroom confer-
ence, is a tactic that will prevail once
again, as it did in the steel negotiations.
Prophets have envisioned-probably ac-
curately-a "White House intervention"
to settle the strike of the AFI-CIO ma-
chinists against five major airlines. Now,
this his been accompanied by a feeling of
dread on the part of some many observers
and participants.
RELAX. ALL OF YOU should be happy.
After all, "intervention" is too strong
a word to apply to the situation. Why
don't we call it an attempt to reach con-
sensus? And, this will merely be one phase
of a master plan (Project W.C.") for
world consensus on everything.
After a speedy conciliation with union
Editorial Staff
LEONARD PRATT ........................ Co-Editor
CHARLOTTE WOLTER ................... Co-Editor
BUD WILKINSON...................Sports Editor
BETSY COHN . . .. .... Supplement Manager
NIGH'IT EDITORS: Meredith Eiker, Michael Hefter,
Shirley Rosick, Susan Schnepp, Martha Wolfgang.
Business Staff
SUSAN PERLSTADT...............Business Manager
members and airline executives in the
ground floor John (with sunken toilet)
of the Texas White House, Johnson will
quickly hop to a newly constructed powder
room in the wing of a Saigon temple-
for a high level conference with repre-
sentatives from Russia, China, Britain,
India and France. The delegates will con-
sider and are expected to settle vital tac-
tical and moral questions on the Viet
Nam conflict, nuclear disarmament, birth
control and homeless beagles.
AND NEXT COMES the universe. John-
son will squeeze in a confrontation
with God to complain about recent rain
squalls and unbearably high temperatures
and ask for conciliation with the under-
world, demanding either a heavenly air
conditioner or a new Lethe-where all
can forget just anything unnegotiable.
-SHIRLEY ROSICK
Confusing
The Issue
IT APPEARS that "Soapy" Williams is
going to win the Democratic nomina-
tion for the Senate seat left vacant by the
death of Pat McNamara. The only con-
crete issue between Williams and Cav-
anagh is the war in Viet Nam, and Mich-
igan residents are too confused on the
issue to differentiate between the two
How can you adjust to twisting
young minds and poisoning pure+
souls?"
"I know it's tough son, but that's
part of the responsibilities of be-
ing an adult.
"HOW CAN YOU say that, Doc?+
Can you see me telling kids about
the poor starving children in
Europe, then just stand by and
watch them napalm the hell out
of those poor starving kids in
Southeast Asia? Can you see me
reading fairy tales to my kids and
then telling them that fairies don't
exist? Doc, can you see me telling
my kids what fairies really are?"
"It's a cruel world, my boy, but
it's all we've got. Believe me, I
know how you feel. Discovering
there's no Santa Claus; having to
watch my old man sell apples on
Spanish E
By CAROL STARR
Collegiate Press Service
THE SPANISH educational sys-
tem is a direct reflection of the
economic, social, and political
structure of the "modern" para-
dox of Spain. Franco has succeed-
ed in instilling a national attitude
of complete passivity towards any
kind of intellectual development.
At this point the Spaniard feels
there is little place for intellectual
enrichment in his society and be-
cause of his inability to obtain
the maximum benefits from edu-
cation, expects little from it.
This is not too amazing that the
Spanish educational system has
little to ofer the average man. The
secondary and higher institutions
of learning are monopolized by
the still small middle and upper
classes, and the limited influence
of the industrial revolution now
beginning in Spain encourages an
even more restricted system of
education.
THE BASIC problems of the
system as it now exists are the ab-
sence of a broadly based educa-
tional program and the lack of
adequate institutions in which the
people can fully participate.
A couple of weekends agouwhen
I was in Toledo, a group of
friends and I passed by an open
door which was labeled "escuela
primaria." We walked into a dimly
the corner. Experiences like that
can ruin anybody's life."
"But Doc, you can't just give in,
you have to fight it. How can you
look your kids straight in the eye
and tell them that 'Winnie the
Pooh' is not great literature? How
can you face a responsibility like
that? Wouldn't you like to find
some way to escape?"
"Everyone would, son, this being
grown up is hell."
"WELL THAT'S WHY I turn on,
Doc. It's sort of like changing
places with Peter Pan. Can you
blame me?"
"No, as a matter of, fact, son,
I can't. But personally, I find gin
and Pablum a lot more effective."
(Alpern is a staff writer for the
Washington Square Journal at
New York University.)
ducation:
fly Passive'
classrooms out of the 106,000 pub-
lic elementary school classrooms
in the country.
THE GOVERNMENT'S role in
relation to education has been
direct; perhaps directly passive
but direct. The short-lived Re-
public concentrated much of its
program in the educational field.
One thousand new schools were
built in 1938 alone in the midst
of war, and in Republican Spain
in 1937.
Apparently the acute shortage
of skilled labor was brought to the
attention of the government. A
new five-year program was begun
in 1957 to build 16,000 new class-
rooms by 1963; although the num-
ber was not reached, construction
continues.
Elementary teachers' salaries
were raised 100 per cent (now they
earn $1,000 a year; high school
wages vary from $2,300 to $3,000
annually). Many new labor tech-
nical high schools have been built
to train skilled workers. Five labor
universities, with attendance bas-
ed on scholarship only, have been
constructed to train factory man-
agers and technicians.
ALTHOUGH the future holds
promises of a more industrialized
society, it holds little promise for
improvement in the intellectual
development of the people's minds.
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