Eie £i$§ian Paitt Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan HEW'S KIDDY FILE Keeping tabs on America sfuture Saturday, November 8, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 SPA4~NC%- OF SMIUM t I. s ' 00 By DIANE BAUER WASHINGTON, D.C. (PNS)- Thirteen million children have become the latest target for fed- eral government spying into the lives of U.S. citizens. The CIA, FBI and the Army compiled dossiers on' the per- sonality, behavior, emotional at- titudes and relationships of U.S. senators, their families and friends. Now the Department of Health, Education and Welfare is doing the same for the chil- dren of the poor. HEW has the best cover story of all. It is offering free medical tests for all children whose fam- ilies fall below the poverty line. The program, called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT), aims at detecting and preventing health problems among chil- dren who lack access to the medical facilities of the middle class. But even as doctors probe these children for physical de- fects or symptoms of disease, they also test for personality and psychological disorders, signs used to predict the poten- tial problem child, the deviant, and the criminal. Unknown to the mother, doctors will observe and grade the relationship be- tween parent and child. Their findings are then recorded in the child's federally computer- ized dossier. ACCORDING TO James Kolb; HEW deputy director in charge of the program, around three million children across the coun- try have already gone through some form of mental health screening. Questions proposed for moth- ers of infants being screened include: * "How did you feel when you were pregnant...? 4 "How did your husband feel? * "Do you want to have more children? If not, why not? * "Is this child smarter than your other children? Not as smart?" Questions for mothers of 11- year-olds and teenagers, spelled out in the doctors' manual pre- pared by the American Acade- my of Pediatrics for EPSDT, include: * "Do you think that this per- son is generally pleasant and easy to live with? Gargantuan grocery chains strangle quality local stores M' ' r ,, k ,. t. ar . .. u CIA', puflout. evades issue GRADUATES WITH FANTASIES of entering a netherland of espion- age and intrigue might have to change their career plans. Everett Ardis, of Career Planning and Placement, confirmed yesterday that the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have cancelled their plans to send recruiters to campus to interview prospective employees. Sensitized by recent media disclo- sures about the agencies' illegal ac- tivities and further discussion engen- dered by the Ann Arbor Teach-In earlier this week, students had quick- ly mobilized to demonstrate their an- ger and ,protest .against the appear- a.nce here of representatives of "criminal organizations." TODAY'S STAFF: News: Gordon Atcheson, Mike Foley, Stephen Hersh, Pauline Lubens, Cheryl Pilate, Tim Schick. Editorial Page: Marc Basson, Paul Haskins, Tom Kettler, Linda Kloote, Jon Pansius, Tom Stevens. 4rts Page: Jeff Selbst photo Technician: Steve Kagan Though we can applaud the intelli- gence agencies' decisions not to use the university as a tool to staff them- selves -- the planners and supporters of the demonstration should be over- joyed -- it leaves occasion to pause and reflect on what these actions symbolize. THE SURREPTIOUS M A N N E R, namely sudden and unexplained, employed in the change of plans points to yet another instance of governmental secrecy and timidity in facing its opponents. It is highly unlikely tpey suddenly believe there are no takers for job offers. They've been here in past years and there are probably still prospective James Bonds in our midst. Rather, their refusal to appear here suggests a fear of criticism and unwillingness to expose their vulner- ability in a public forum. By elimi-- nating the occasion for protest, they can successfully silence the debate that would ensue. Remember though that while critics in Ann Arbor are cheering the abrupt about-face, the unchallenged NSA and CIA rest se- cure in Washington, protected by a moat of miles from a face-to-face confrontation. By JONATHAN PANSIUS About every three weeks I take a maddening little trip in search of groceries. My shelling out eight dollars or so for my paltry dietary supplement to the Housing System's indigesti- bles can really make me sym- pathetic with apartment dwell- ers. Sometimes I ask, are we getting screwed? On the surface, it might seem that way. Compared to the sup- ermarkets just outside of town, the downtown grocery stores charge about 15 per cent more on the average, according to Professor William Shepherd, of the University economics de- partment. However, the good professor adds that higher costs must share at least part of the blame. The smaller volume of the downtown stores leads to high- er overhead costs. Their mid- town location subjects them to higher rents and property taxes. The supermarkets' great buy- ing power gives them further advantages. "We have to pay more for our merchandise", complains the manager of White Market. "When you're small, you're not treated right". Many managers of the local markets report that their wholesale prices are higher than some re- tail prices charged by the sup- ers on the same items, (Anple- rose Natural Foods even tried to buy from a grocery giant at the retail level but that com- petitor said no to the deal.) The large volume of the out- lying supermarkets enables them to use loss leaders-spec- ial items marked at or below cost - to lure customers into the store and tempt them to buy the higher-priced items also be- ing displayed. Small retailers cannot use this tactic as much because they lack the funds to support it. One thing that the supermark- ets sacrifice for their lower prices is service, and the neigh- borhood grocers emphasize this. "You ask a question in a super- market, and the guy says 'don't ask me, I'm just the stock boy'." In most small stores any line at the counter is short and the service is excellent. The people running these stores seem genuinely interested in their customers. "People can come in here and ask questions about a recipe or anything we have", notes the proprietor of Aonlerose Natural Foods. "We're what a grocery store should be." Of course, stores like Strick- land or Anplerose specializing in quality food pay more, so you do too. These grocers sure seem like nice people, but this university has sunposedly been training me to be an objective economic analyst, so here are the bad points about our local markets. Competition is living by the skin of its teeth. Few customers shop at more than two or three places; the rest have a lot of store loyalty either out of habit or because of a store's conven- ient location. Few of our local grocers ad- mit to "the evils of competi- tion." Battling the big supers is a futile gesture from their standpoint; the manager of White Market is resigned to the fact that "we can't com- pare". As a former president of A&P once stated confidently, "we have no competition from lower prices because they buy in bulk from co-op sources and virtually eliminate overhead costs and profits. Volunteers donate their time to run the store and customers serve them- selves. Running an operation like this needs a large group of dedicated personnel, however, and co-op efforts do not always succeed. For instance, the own- er of Sergeant Pepper's recalls how "the university tried to run a meat co-op, but it just died". Finally William Shepherd suggests a course of "direct ac- tion" by the university. The ideal situation would be a super- * "Has this person been ar- rested or had other difficulties with the police? " "Does this person regular- ly use tobacco, alcohol or drugs? a "Has this person had sex- ual intercourse?" PARENTS WHOSE children are eligible for EPSDT but fail to apply for the testing will be sought out through the schools or in their homes by federally sponsored outreach programs. The program provides no guarantee that medical treat- ment will follow, once the prob- lems have been identified. Unlike the physical check-up aspect, the mental health mass screening is entirely experimen- tal - as Kob himself admits. Despite the fact that the pro- gram has been in existence for three years, HEW still has no guidelines for the mental health component. This means, in effect, that states have had a free hand to set their own rules - or to let doctors devise their own test procedures as they see fit. MEANWHILE, the association of phychiatrists, psychologists and social workers-the Ameri- cantOrthopsychiatric Association (Ortho) - which was awarded the original contract to draft the guidelines has yet to produce a finished document. Five drafts submitted to HEW have been rejected for failure to include hardline, one-shot tests. Ortho claims such tests are not valid. At a meeting this month Or- tho plans to discuss a final rec- ommendation to HEW that the mental health mass screening program be dropped. Such a recommendation could mean a loss of the $75,000 contract and the jobs for Ortho members the mental testing program would generate. Dr. Florence Halpern, the Or- tho consultant who toured EPSDT mental screening pro- grams around the country in, her efforts to devise the guide- lines, has already advised Or- tho "not to mess with it." "It can's be done in this Coun- try at this time," Dr. Halpern says. DESPITE THE experimental nature of the program, it is nowrgoing on inpalmost every state. Congress has already or- dered that federal welfare mon- ies be withheld from nine states which have failed to implement it. If the order is carried out, it would reduce federal aid to the very families which the gov- ernment hopes to force into EPSDT. At the same time, public in- terest law firms, including legal service programs in Michigan and California, have sued 12-13 states for failing to push EPSDT through fast enough. The Children'es Defense Fund filed the first EPSDT suit in 1971, on behalf of the National Welfare Rights Organization, to compel HEW to issue regula- tions for the program four years after Congress had passed it. Such groups, formed to be watchdogs of children's civil rights, see EPSDT as providing vitally needed health care ser- vices for their clients. IN FACT the dream of pro- viding free health screening and treatment for poor children was what inspired Congress to pass the EPSDT legislation in 1967- as the last legacy of Lyndon proposed nationwide mental health testing of six to eight year olds, with detention camps for those young- sters judged to have 'criminal potential'." the Study of Psychiatry in Wash- ington, D.C., the Committee Op- posing Abuse of Psychiatry and the Medical Committee for Hu- man Rights. DR. STEPHEN Hersh, Assis- ant Director for Children and Youth of HEW's NIMH, is one such critic. "As soon as I heard of the legislation," Hersh said, "I started seeing Hutschnwcker nightmares." In 1970, Arnold Hutschnecker, President Nixon's doctor, proposed nationwide mental health testing of 6-to-8 year olds, with detention camps for those youngsters judged to have "criminal potential." The proposal was hastily abandoned when its exposure caused a fur- or from both the public and the mental health profession. According to Dr. Hersh, the committee agreed that "the state of the art is such that it is premature to have such a program. We just do not know enough." But despite the combined warnings of NIMH and Ortho, the EPS.DT mental health screening is going ahead, ac- cording to HEW's James Kolb. "Each state is experimentiing in various approaches to this kind of thing (the mental health screening)," Kolb said. WITH DOSSIERS building up on 3 million children, he says "Its healthy to try out various things to begin to find out which ones seem to work and which ones seem not to work. Let various actors play that kind of thing out until the most work- able system survives." Diane Bauer is an investiga- tive reporter and consultant to the American Civil Liberties Union. Copyright Pacific News Service, 1975. Johnson's Great Society. The dream turned into a night- mare as it progressed through the bureaucratic hands of gov- ernment regulation w r i t e r s pressured by public interest groups. The mental health com- ponent went ignored in the rush to get the job done, The obvious problem of cultural bias raised by mental testing on such a massive scale was not ad- dressed. The EPSDT program began with hardly a murmur of criti- cism or debate. But as it has become more widely known, its critics have grown to include not only Ortho but HEW's own National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Center for "In 1I970, Arnold Hutschnecer, dent Nixon' s Presi- doctor, Daily Photo by KEN FINK a price point of view". Competing with each other would just "rock the boat", the grocers feel. Stability is a key goal; they realize that lowering their price margins would only reduce profits. Furthermore, the difficulty of determining demand, risk aversion, and lack of funds pro- hibit them from using price- cutting to expand their volume. Thus, the befuddled retailer must use cost-plus pricing, marking up each of his goods a specified percentage. The mark- ups ar: round standard num- bers and each store has similar costs, so prices are much the same from store to store. All this gives us high, sticky prices. Increasing the amount of competition somehow would help alleviate some of this. Bet- ter public transportation, for ex- ample, would enable downtown shoppers to buy out of town, but they probably would not take advantage of this. Consumers can shop around for better prices, but they are not likely to find many; that would involve a lot of extra ef- fort that may not be worth it. Co-ops, like the People's Food Co-op and others, can charge market in town, but since pri- vate sources do not wish to open one or even reopen the now-de- funct A&P, the university should create "a large-scale cut-rate store operated along Univer- sity Cellar lines". He felt that the present grocery situation was analagous to that of the book stores before the Univer- sity Cellar opened. Such a store would give the students lower prices, but those not nearby it might not take full advantage of the cut rates. For many, it is too much trou- ble to carry their groceries a longtway. Also, certain prices might not be any lower than those in the small markets, and the service would be poorer. But these limitations would at least prevent such a store from renlacing the little local mono- polies with one big one. A University Cellar-type gro- cery, if it survived, would give students a reasonable chance to buy food at decent prices and force the local grocers to lower some of their prices to meet the competition. It need not do more than that. Jonathan Pansius, and LSNA jgnnor, is a member of the Edi- torial Page staff. n -rua6m .*-< iit6 mLy.-r Be WAIS'HI 619MW Contact your reps- Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), 253 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Rep. Marvin Esch (Rep), 2353 Rayburn Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep), Senate, State Capitol Bldg., Lansing, Mi. 48933. Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem), House of Representatives, State Capitol Bldg., Lansing, Mi. 48933. :-: ?'+: mir>. i> }i:'r t}}i:r':r'a. >s -S " a' s Teamsters: Standing at the crossroads By MICHAEL BECKMAN THE PAST twenty years have been a period of almost un- paralleled corruption for the Teamsters. No other union has such a history of misappropria- tion of funds, indictments and conviction of union officials and connections to the mob. They have been investigated for such activities during almost all of this period. In fact, the recent announcement that a new probe into misuse of Teamster pension funds is being launched hardly made the headlines. Yet, despite their bad image, the Teamsters have not only managed to maintain their bal- ance, but have steadily increas- ed their power base. Their ranks nawnrmhrmall riven (Wn(M done to curb their vast power? For better or for worse, the one man whose name has been the major link between the Team- sters and the mob since the connection was first discovered, Jimmy Hoffa, has been removed from the scene. A new investiga- tion of the Teamsters will soon. begin, and without a man like Hoffa to subvert the investiga- tion, it might actually effect some reforms. If previous inves- tigations have revealed any- thing at all, it' is that reform will not be an easy task. Here are some of the things that this new investigation of the Team- sters should entail: THE HOFFA disappearance would of course be significant, - .. 1 h the _;cllo of th What exactly was the link be- tween the Teamsters and the Nixon White House? What was the nature of Nixon's political obligation to Hoffa? And why is Nixon still seen often with Teamster President Frank Fitz- simmons? (It is a very scary thought that a mob-infested labor union might be intimately tied to a scandalous acd crim- inal administration.) A full investigation should be made into the Teamster's tinan- cial dealings. How much of the pension fund money has been loaned to people of dubious char- acter for dubious purposes -uch as building racetracks and ca- sinos? These are hardly low- risk blue-chip investmewvs, and thr rak adfie of theimin ensure that what has happened once will not happen again. What can be done to harness the fantastic power of the Team- sters for the union's members instead of its leaders? Another Board of Monitors overseeing the Teamster leaders isn't the answer. The evil inherent in the system may be held in cneck temporarily, but once the watch- dogs are called off, what then? A restructuring of the entire union leadership is necessary. The Teamsters have long since passed the stage where they can be considered a typical labor union. They are in effect, a mul- ti-faceted corporation and should be dealt with as such. No single man should wield the power that Jimm Hffa did. and no songie posal has been that the admin- istrative power over the Team- sters union be turned over to a Board of Directors. It 'tas also been suggested that the Team- sters be broken up into smaller unions, either by region or by industry, exactly as the govern- ment now does with large con- glomerates under the anti-trust laws. There are other possibili- ties as well. Certainly any of these meth- ods would be better than what the Teamsters have now. It is time to end the turbulence and corruption that have character- ized the Teamsters in the past. If decisive action is taken now, perhaps someday the Teamsters will be known as the union tbst accomplished the most for the