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Show I Page Four FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 1961 THE SALT LAKE TIMES Columnist Praises Appointment Of White House Overseer and supposedly are directly re-sponsible to Congress there has been very little supervision- - of their operations and none what-soever in several years by the Administrative branch of the government. We have pointed out many times that the boards and com-missions frequently make judi-cial decisions without all of the members being present to hear evidence and arguments in cases involving life or death of im-portant companies and corpora-tions. This is similar to a jury trial in which all of the1 jurors are not present. Mr. Landis, in a special report prepared for the President prior to his appointment as Overseer, roundly criticized some proce-dures of the regulatory agencies. The so called regulatory agencies are the Federal Trade Commis- - The appointment of a White House "Overseer" for the several governmental regulatory agen-cies is an important and signifi-cant move toward correcting what has become an indefensible and intolerable situation in Washington, says Clinton David-son columnist. James M. Landis, appointed by President Kennedy to head the newly created Office for the Oversight of Regulatory Agen-cies, is well qualified for the tough job he faces. He formerly served as chairman of the Secur-ities and Exchange Commission and the Civil Aeronautics Board and as dean of the Harvard Law School. The really important thing is that for the first time in several years there will be an authority with power to review, and if necessary overrule, arbitrary de-cisions by the semi-autonomo- us regulatory agencies. Over the past several years we have repeatedly called attention to the urgent need for closer su-pervision of the regulatory agen-cies which almost daily make decisions affecting every user of transportation, radio and TV, air travel, electricity and other pub-lic utilities and services. Since Presidential Assistant Sherman Adams was forced to resign there has been no one either at the White House or in Congress who dared tell these agencies what they could and could not do. , Anyone who thought they had been dealt with unfairly by any of the agencies had no one they could appeal to in the White House, and congressmen dared not intervene for fear of being charged with "lobbying for spe-cial interests." Although the regulatory agen-cies were created by Congress sion, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fed-eral Communications Commis-sion, the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Power Commis-sion. In his report, Mr. Landis em-phasized that these regulatory agencies have become so bogged down in bureaucratic red tape that decisions often are delayed for months, and sometimes for years. The delays alone have cost consumers and the regulated in-dustries millions of dollars. Another confirmation of our criticisms was made in a report by the House Legislative Over-sight Sub-committe- e, of which Rep. Oren Harris of Arkansas is chairman, in which it charged the agencies with "using horse and buggy approaches to space age problems." That is one of the most apt descriptions we have seen as applied to some agency operations. I I THE SALT LAKE TIMES Ijigh 5 Combined with The Salt Lake Mining & Legal News FcSrlfiSS Published Every Friday at Salt Lake City, Utah . Entered at the postoffice at Salt Lake City as second lOuCpCndCnt class matter August 23, 1923 under the act of March 8, Newspaper 711 South West Temple Telephone EM 64 I GLENN BJORNN, Publisher "This publication is not owned or controlled by any party, clan, clique, faction or corporation." Volume 40 Number 41 . th-e- LEASED GRAPEVINE City Attorney James Barker, in answer to charges made in a lawsuit in U. S. District Court, this week alleged purchase of 1700 parking meters by the city in December, 1957, violated city ordinances, state laws and the Utah Constitution. The suit was filed Nov. 4 by Nautec Corp. of Chicago, against the city to collect $29,000.00 claimed by the corporation to be due on purchase of meters. Filing of the lawsuit followed the company's rejection of a "payment in full" voucher for $7,750 for the meters. Salt Lake City and County Commissions this week moved toward an agreement on prorat-ing costs of operating and main-taining the proposed joint Public Safety Building. Both commissions will meet again next Monday at 5 p.m. to further discuss the proposed agreement and possible changes with an eye to its final adoption. Some 250 employees of the State Highway Department this week began moving into the new state office building, emptying the department's various down-town offices. Resignation of Nicholas Mor-gan Jr. from his position as a member of the University Board of Regents was accepted this week by Gov. George D. Clyde.; Members of the University of Utah faculty this week honored Dr. and Mrs. Sterling M. Mc-Murr- in prior to their departure for Washington where Dr. Mc-Murr- in will take over duties of U. S. Commissioner of Education in the Kennedy Administration. Legible printing of taxpayers' names and address on the top lines of 1960 individual federal income tax returns will assist both the taxpayers and Internal Revenue Service, Roland Wise, Director for the Salt Lake City District, said this week. "A carefully printed or type-written identification of the per-son or persons filing will make it immediately possible for the Revenue Service to credit the return and any accompanying payment to the right source," he said. "Multiple Use Balanced Con-servation Planning for the Fu-ture" is the announced theme for the 1961 annual observance of National Wildlife Week, now set for March 19-2- 5. Purpose of the Week, spon-sored each year by the National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliates, is to focus public at-tention to the importance of our natural resources and on the pressing problems of conserva-tion. Each of the past 23 years an important problem concerning conservation needs has been brought to the nation's attention through this program. A clerk,was handed a pay en-velope which inadvertently con-tained a blank check. The per-plexed man looked at it and moaned: "Just as I thought it would happen . . . my deduc-tions have caught up with my salary." ' Democrats Must Cut Down Unemployment (Continued from Page One) unskilled, the older workers and workers displaced through automation and other industrial dislocations. Programs of vo-cational training and retraining need to be stepped up in order that available workers can be matched with available jobs. Plastic Bags Menace Babies This is a warning from the State Department of Health: If you are a saver, don't save thin plastic bags save babies! The danger of suffocatioin by plastic bags, according to Dr. James D. Wharton, Interim Director, Department of Health, is not limited to babies. Of four fatalities in Utah which are recalled, one, the most recent, was a little baby, one was four . years old, one was a boy of 17 and one was an elderly lady, but suffocation kills more infants than any other cause and in many cases, ultra-thi- n plastic is the agent. 1 Ultra-thi- n plastic, such as is used to protect clothing, bread loaves and other food, has three deadly characteristics. It becomes charged with electricity and thus clings, a vacuum forms behind it so that it clings tighter, and it forms a one-wa- y closed valve over mouth and nostrils. It has one more deadly character-istic a terible fascination for children who love to use it as a mask or head covering or as a net to enmesh other children. Many warnings have been issued by the plastics industry, the dry cleaning institute, the National Safety Council, federal, state and local health departments, but children continue to be smothered by ultra-thi- n plastic. . "We could suggest ways of using salvaged plastic to reduce the danger of people being suffocated, but all danger can be removed if a single rule is followed. "When you empty a thin plastic bag in that moment de-stroy it or tie it in knots, beyond possible salvage by any child and put it in a covered garbage can." . . It should be remembered that the thin plastic in sheets as may be salvaged from large dry cleaning bays, is just as danger-ous as small bags, or more so. Never use such material to cover children's pillows, mattresses, etc. Even if this is sewed on securely the baby may turn its face into the material and die. Here is Latest Information Regarding Polio Vaccines able only since 1955, but we all remember the great campaigns waged by the physicians during the first two years. If we kept up our zeal, if we maintained our clinics and school programs, new cases of polio would be medical curiosities. Our present polio vaccination status for the nation is: 40 per cent of the population under 60 have had not one shot. 20 per cent of the children under five years have had no vaccine, and that group gets most Eight months is required to build up maximum immunity to polio: First shot now; Second shot, in 30 days; Third shot, seven months later. The first shot gives consider-able protection, the second shot much more. So, although it is even now to late for complete protectoin against the most dan-gerous months of August and September, prudence demands that all of us who have not had the complete series start now, and finish all three shots. of the paralytic cases. An addi-tional 19 per cent are only par-tially protected. Of the best protected groups, school children from 10 to 20 years of age fully 20 per cent lack full protection. 55 per cent of adults of 20 to 40 years lack full protectoin and of those 40 to 60 86 had no vac-cine at all. It is thus clear that substan-tial epidemics of killing and of crippling polio are still not only possible but probable; that the need for personal and family protection has not subsided and that our, communities must re-organize their defenses and hold a continuing program of attack.; Kind looks, kind words, kind act and warm handshakes they are secondary means of grace when men are in trouble and are fighting their unseen battles. John Hall. What about oral vaccine? An oral vaccine to be taken by mouth has been developed, has been tested and proved and is in preperation, but it will not be available in sufficient quantity for general use this year because of production problems requir-ing solution for complete safety. It will be more convenient than the present Salk vaccine, but per-haps no safer nor more effective. We should not wait. The danger of polio is ever present; there will be epidemics in the fall and the Salk vaccine is just as safe as ever. It has saved thousands of lives and prevented many thousands from being crippled for life. If you have not been vaccinat-ed, your danger is about nine times as great as that of your neighbor who has had his three shots. Don't put it off! Polio vaccine has been avail- - Just For Today . . . Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: (1) I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; if anybody knows it, it will not count; (2) I will do at least two things I don't want to do just for exercise; (3) I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt; they may be hurt, but today I will not show it. Railroads Disclose Operations Plan Santa Fe and Western Pacific have entered into formal agree-ment for operation of Western Pacific as a separate railroad in event Santa Fe is authorized to acquire stock control of WP. The announcement was jointly made recently by F. B. Whitman, president of Western Pacific, and Ernest S. Marsh, president of Santa Fe. simultaneously with a similar statement by the general counsel of both roads in a pre-hearing conference before the Interstate Commerce Commis-sion in Washington, D.C. The agreement. Whitman said, was sought by Western Pacific and meets the conditions pre-viously advanced by WP as a basis for its support of Santa Fe control of Western Pacific. One of the principal purposes of the agreement is to provide for the tax free exchange of shares of Western Pacific for shares of Santa Fe. He pointed out that the plan, coupled with previous agreements between both com-panies that the movement of traffic through the Utah and Bieber gateways will be fostered and maintained, assures that the public will continue to receive the benefits of active and ag-gresi- ve rail competition and that Western Pacific employees and stockholders would be benefited by the consummation of the agreement. |