Estherville Daily News from Estherville, Iowa • Page 4

Washington Merry Go Round Dark Side of Haiti By JiH Andcrson with Lcs Whit toil WASHINGTON like the moon, Haiti presents its bright side to the world. But it also has a dark, unseen side which it tries to hide from the world. The government discourages newsmen from visiting the most bleak areas, where the peasants are starving while their rulers feast. Foreign reporters, who have ventured too far, have been hustled out of the country on the next available plane. One young Haitian reporter named Gassner Raymond dared to write a story criticizing the government.

Two weeks later, his body was discovered in a roadside ditch. We sent our roving reporter, Hal Bern ton, to the tiny, mountainous Caribbean nation to seek out the stories the government would like to suppress. Posing as an itinerant student, he traveled with a knapsack on his back into the forbidding area. Bernton began his investigation in Port-Au- Prince, the bright side of Haiti, where tourists toll in elegant hotels, drink cool glasses of tropical rum punch and dance after dark in sleek discotheques. BUT IF HAITI IS A TROPICAL paradise for the foreign tourists, it is a land of luxury for the ruling class.

They are dominated by the amazing Duvalier family, who have amassed a pirate's fortune since the late "Papa Doc" Duvalier seized power in 1958. His place has now been taken by his 24-year- old son. Jean-Claude Duvalier, more affectionately known as "Baby Doc," who governs under the watchfull maternal eye of his mother, "Mamon Simone" Duvalier. They impose a special tax on nearly all the principal goods the impoverished nation produces. The money goes into the royal treasury for the Duvaliers to spend as they please.

Sources who have kept tabs on the family estimate the Duvaliers have stashed over $200 million in Swiss banks. "We are painfully aware," a U.S. official told Bernton, "that it's the little farmers who have provided the funds to have the streets of Port- Au-Prince." THE OPPRESSED PEASANTS also have paid for a fleet of 10 sleek automobiles, which "Baby Doc" rides over the paved streets. Sometimes, he scatters money to the appreciative crowds. The family also owns numerous villas scattered around the country.

The latest acquisition was a Spanish hacienda for "Mamon Simone." From the bright lights and plush hotels of Port-Au-Prince, Bernton headed with his knapsack into the northwest section of Haiti. He sought directions from missionaries, social I Ueltsd workers and others familiar with the hinterland. They warned him the Haitian military would stop him from entering the area. Nevertheless, Bernton climbed aboard a colorfully painted native bus and perched himself on the roof for the jolting, all-day ride up the island. The opulence of Port-Au-Prince quickly faded into scenes of stark poverty.

Alongside the dusty road were clusters of mud-walled houses, with roofs of palm fronds. Young children, with the thin arms and swollen bellies that betray malnutrition, stood naked in the dust. Some stared sullenly; others shouted greetings. Haiti is the poorest nation the the Western hemisphere. Bernton made his way into its poorest region.

He hiked the last 10 miles to an isolated village. Along the way, he passed through a desolate land of charcoaled tree stumps. The trees had been felled by natives, the hard wood burned into charcoal for fuel. Among the blackened stumps were even more stark thickets of cactus. WITHOUT VEGETATION to stop the erosion, rain torrents had carved deep gullies into the barren terrain.

The swirling water had washed away the soil, leaving only exposed cracks. The land had also been baked by two summers of drought. Yet the Haitian government had refused at first to acknowledge the drought. Bernton was exhausted when he reached the village. The dirt-poor villagers brought him ripe mangoes to eat.

He was taken in by a farm family, who lived in a small thatched hut atop a barren knoll. The farmer tried to scratch a living from a small plot watered by a tiny creek. "This year, the rain has not come," the farmer said, shaking his head wearily. "We work so hard. And all for nothing.

Many of the children are weak. Each month, we replant our land. But there is no rain. Nothing grows." "Whaddya mean am I pledged to Ford, Reagan or still uncommitted?" Gatkervine (la.) Dally Newt, AUG. ltW Pift 4 Dr.

Lamb Iron from Vitamins By Lawrence DEAR DR husband and years old. cholesterol E. Lamb, M.D. LAMB My I are each SO He is on a low diet which I also use. Now we are both anemic.

My question is how can we both get 18 milligrams of iron daily when the greatest sources of iron are in organ foods. DEAR READER There are five milligrams of iron in one cup of cooked mature bean seeds and four milligrams in a cup of cooked spinach. Neither contains cholesterol. Cook in iron pots and skillets. You'll get some iron from them.

Finally, I don't see why people with special considerations for their diet, as your husband has, need worry so much about getting all the vitamins and minerals they need from food intake. There is nothing wrong with taking THE BORN LOSER A by Art Sonsom TO ESCAPE STARVATION, many people already have left the region. Some set out dangerously in flimsy little sailboats, hoping to reach the Bahamas. Others made the hard trek to Port-Au-Prince with'the faint hope of finding work. The village leader took Bernton on a tour of the area.

Bernton saw how dependent the people were on the sweet mangoes. They sucked up every last drop of the juice, then threw away the skins to be eaten by dogs, pigs, donkeys and goats. The children, their hair turned to a rust color by malnutrition, usually squatted in front of their huts. They were too weak to run and play. WINTHROP one of the standard daily vitamin tablets with iron that you can get at the grocery store.

Check the label and you'll find that those with iron usually contain 18 milligrams of iron. That could certainly make life easier for you. Incidentally, I think anyone with an anemia should find out what is causing it. Is it really because of an iron deficiency? Is it another form of anemia that requires a different treatment, or is it related to an important blood loss? Your doc. tor can find out for you.

To give you more information on anemias, I am sending vou Trte-Health Letter number Understanding the- Anemias. Others who want this information can send a long, stamped, self-addressed envelope with 50 cents for it. Just address your letter to me in care of this newspaper, P.O. Box 1551, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10019. DEAR DR.

LAMB We had a talk in our health class about some of the stars of the sports world using blood transfusions of their own blood to give them the extra help needed to do the event they are in. Could you tell me how this works? DEAR READER For the most part it doesn't work. The idea is to withdraw some of the person's blood and store it. Meanwhile the body replaces the blood that has been withdrawn. Then just before the endurance event, such as long distance running, the original blood is transfused back into the person.

This will temporarily increase the volume of blood in the circulation. The whole concept is based on the idea that the amount of work a trained person can do is limited by the amount of oxygen delivered to the working muscles. The amount of oxygen delivered is dependent upon how much blood is pumped to the muscles. The reason the concept is a failure is that the amount of blood pumped is dependent upon the heart's capacity to pump 'ttTtmnmiinmiiii blood. The increased number of red blood cells by the transfusion mechanism does not really improve oxygen delivery enough to make any important difference.

Carefully controlled laboratory experiments have shown this. I think there might be one important exception. The athlete who is going to compete at high altitude and has not trained at high altitude before competition might get some benefit from the temporary increase in red blood cells. A better idea though is to train at high altitude if you are going to compete there. in summary then, the practice of "blood doping" that you are asking about has proved to be fairly useless and I do not approve of it.

(NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.) More than 27,000 gallons of water are needed to irrigate an acre of land to the depth of one inch. NEWS Anl 'Monday through except principal excluding Waahineton's Birthday and Day. Second ctaaa portage paid at EatherrUk, Iowa. PuNwaari by the EsthsrviUe Daily Division of Mid-America Puhiiehtiw N. 7th St, EatherriUe, Iowa SUM.

Subscription rates: aty of EstkcrviUe and Ringstad, delivered by carrier, per month, paid in advance, for months, for months, tM par By mall in Emmet and eaantlai: CBJO a year, loom year. Fred E. WUUama. PublJehsr; Cfcaxiaa Ostbcimtr, Maimgiag Editor; Richard Myers, Admitting Director; UiUac Joe Curtail, Shopper Maaaair, Betty Kit- Blom, Circulation Clerk; Sharon Prisoner, Homined Dept. Msnegsi Member of Iowa Dally Press Association, to this wfll not be named by mail.

they may be pieaaclap at the Daily News' office. WITH SfREEN BSHJMD yOLA WH3fe Nig- TO BAT VOa 1876 By by Dick Covolli SIDE GLANCES THE PICTURE "TUBE IN "YOUR "TV JUST BLEW by Gill fox FRANK AND ERNEST by Bob Thoves NATIONAL BANK kVfeLL, IF CHECK gOlvMCfD, WHY COVLPM'T VOU HAVfr LtT IT BoUtJCE OVER TO VOUR LOAN Don't Just Visit, Take Elderly Out By Abigail Van Buren 1976 by Chietfo Tribune-N. Y. Nm Sym). Inc.

DEAR ABBY: A letter in your column about visiting the elderly in nursing homes prompts my first "Dear Abby" letter. I agree, it's a great service to visit an elderly friend or relative in a nursing home, but consider this: Instead of going there to sit with him while you both look at the same four walls he looks at day in and day out, why not give him a change of scenery? Take him for a little drive and stop for a bite to eat. Or take him window shopping. Or treat him to a home-cooked meal with the family. Just being away from the institution will relieve his boredom and lift his spirits.

If he isn't able to walk, be aware that they now make lightweight wheelchairs that can be easily folded and tucked into the trunk of the car. Abby, this is a plea to your readers who visit someone in a nursing home: Please turn those routine duty visits into special events by treating the patient to an occasional outing. It will do wonders for him. And for you, too. I know.

I've been a volunteer in such a home for over 10 years. BESS DEAR BESS: What a pity you'll never know how much happiness your suggestion will bring to countless residents of nursing homes throughout the nation. Bless you for writing. DEAR ABBY: I am so glad I can write to you with this problem because it has bothered me for years and I can't go to anyone else with it. You see, my parents were never married, which makes me illegitimate, right? I'm riot exactly proud of it, but I don't let it bother me too much because there is nothing I can do about it.

I married a very nice man and we have cwo lovely children. I want so much for them to be legitimate, but if I'M not, then THEY can't be either, and that is my problem. What must I do to make my children legitimate? Thank you. MEMPHIS MOM DEAR MOM: You did it. You married their father.

All children born to a married couple are legitimate, regardless of the legitimacy (or illegitimacy) of their parents. DEAR ABBY: I am planning my wedding. I want my bridesmaids to wear southern belle-type dresses and enter carrying parasols instead of flowers. I want them to walk down the aisle with their parasols open, until they reach the front of the church. Then they would turn to face the congregation and close their parasols, keeping them closed for the duration of the service.

My fiance and his mother say this would look stupid. What do you and your readers think? BRIDE DEAR BRIDE: I think it might look as though you were trying to create a Broadway musical production effect. And for those who are superstitious, it's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors. DEAR ABBY: Men have worn earrings for Shakespeare, Rembrandt and King James II, to name a few of the more prominent of them. Ancient Greeks and Romans borrowed the custom from the Persian and Indian men.

And our own American Indian braves also wore earrings. And how about the early African warriors? And the pirates? Men wore earrings long before women did, so why all the ruckus? LIVE AND LET LIVE Jumble ACROSS 1 Island in Mediterranean 7 Not on the coast 13 Take umbrage 14 Evening party 15 Kind of jury 16 Uses a broom 17 Epistle lab.) iB Really-(Anglo- Irish) 20 Request 21 Certain swords 25 Quivering 28 Book of Psalms 32 Circuits 33 Verdi heroine 34 Girl's name 35 Western cattle 36 Resources 40 Coat with tin- lead alloy 41 Taken out 43 New Guinea seaport 46 Resident (suffix) 47 Little (Scot.) 50 Demented 53 Islamic 56 Delay 57 Eulogize 56 Imprints 59 Texas bigwig DOWN 1 Algonquian Indian 2'Canine cry 3 Greek letter 4 Residence (ab.) 5 One. in Italian 6 Leather thong 7 Emanates 6 At this time 9 Perjure 10 Range 11 Fiber knots 12 Writing table 1 2 3 4 5 6 13 15 17 18 Answer to Previous Puzzle SHU aw3 19 Tear 21 Recompensed 22 Reply (ab.) 23 Symbol for radium 24 Listed, as candidates 25 Fish sauce 26 Rail 27 Pageantry 29 Binder 30 Biblical garden 31 Underdone 35 Sainte (ab.) 37 Tellurium (symbol) 38 Foreigners 39 Permit 42 Rhythm 43 Covers 44 Dili herb 45 This (Sp.) 47 Slender 46 Flat-topped Mil 49 Prayer ending 51 Dutch measure 52 Blight 54 Boundary (comb, form) 55 Girl's nickname 7 9 11 12 14 16 20 "He's the gum of our neighborhood rust.