Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 4

4A March 21, 1976 The Myth And Reality About Crime And Now, The Bionic Postal Service machines. What comes out of the Merry-Go-Round By JACK ANDERSON WASHINGTON The "Six Million Dollar Man," as most television addicts know, is a bionic creation who combines, humanity and technology. The government has used a similar combination to produce its own scientific wonder, the bionic postal service. The result, however, has been the "One Billion Dollar Boondoggle." The TV show, of course, is an adventurous invention. The postal production, unfortunately, is the awful truth.

The new bionic system, which uses men and machines to process bulk mail in the Space Age, has been misdirecting and mangling packages at an alarming rate. Parcels intended for horrje delivery have wound up instead in the musty warehouses and city dumps of Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C. Add Memphis Now we have learned that the bulk mail center in Memphis, should be added to the menace list. In Memphis, too, mangled mail has been put out with the garbage. Our inside sources have reason to believe that package mail is being detained or destroyed in every one of the 21 bulk mail facilities throughout the United States.

It has cost the taxpayers more than $1 billion for this kind of service. At the risk of saying we told you so, we have been warning about the debacle for five years. As early as January 1971, we reported that the first bulk mail center had already cost $60 million more than it was supposed to. First of all, it was constructed, inexplicably, on swampland near Secaucas, N.J. Because of the boggy ground, the pilings had to be sunk to an extraordinary depth.

One day, the workmen made an unexpected, unpleasant discovery. The pilings pierced an underground field of fermenting waste and the odor of methane gas almost overpowered them. Called For Study The Secaucas experience, however, didn't stop the intrepid postal planners. Then-Postmaster General Ted Klassen, who subsequently was forced to resign because of our revelations, called for an, obligatory study. This was conducted by James Hargrove, a consultant with Nixon credentials, who closeted himself for a few weeks and emerged with his findings.

"Well," he said, "the rocket's on its way to the moon." Thus encouraged, Klassen moved into the Space Age. His successor, Postmaster General. Ben Bailar, has now admitted privately that the whole bulk mail concept was a mistake. It was proposed by Richard Nixon's first postmaster general, Winton Blount, whose construction firm has wound up with $91 million in contracts to build four of the bulk mail centers. The system was conceived, one postal official now says, "on the back of an envelope." Under the system, package mail must be ferried to the 21 central locations' to be processed by high-volume machines.

Many packages must be hauled for long distances to be routed through the centers. For example, a parcel moving from El Paso to Midland, Texas, would have to travel 1,483 miles out of its way in order to pass through a bulk mail center. Counteracts Gains The slow haul usually counteracts any time that might be gained from the fast processing Why not, the speaker asked, make crime prevention as routine in our daily lives as health and safety? The speaker was Carl W. Kellem of Louisville, who talked at a seminar held last week on the Sioux Falls College campus. What he said makes sense, but it will require Americans to rethink their con-, cepts about the criminal justice system, and separate myth from reality.

The Myth: John Q. Citizen sits down before his TV set, and thinks that the Wyatt Earp syndrome is the way things are in the U.S.A. in 1976. The U.S. marshal rides in pursuit of the criminal, subdues him, brings him to trial and sees him incarcerated or hung.

The only thing changed, in the mind of the viewer, is that there are no legal executions these days. Whether it's Wyatt Earp, or the modern version of the Western makes no difference. The citizen believes the police, highway patrol and FBI are fighting crime like the marshals and sheriffs of yesteryear. Like Columbo, who always gets his man, and An-gie Dickenson, who gets hers, too, the law brings the criminal to account. This happens whether the star is Cannon, or the show is Streets of San Francisco or Hawaii 5-0.

The viewer is mesmerized with the be-' lief that crime is properly dealt with, and he can continue his passive role, sitting on his duff, while lawmen protect him. The problem, Kellem said, is that that's not the way it is. The Reality: In the real world, only a small percentage of crimes are solved. An even smaller number are prosecuted. The number of offenders sent to prison is smaller yet.

And the rising incidence, of crime, as reflected by statistics, is frightening. It means that John Q. and Mary Citizen may become statistics themselves, sometime during their lifetimes. Kellem recited some of those statistics. During every 24-hour period, 54 Americans are killed, 1,045 are robbed, 140 raped, 1,140 assaulted and there are 7,000 burglaries.

These are reported crimes only; the tip of the iceberg. Three years ago, there was a major crime every 11 seconds. Today, there is a crime every nine seconds. Expanding The System? Kellem said that if someone could wave a magic wand to cope with the crime problem, the following would result: recruitment of more law, enforcement personnel, an increase in the court system to provide speedy trials under due process, and an expansion in the penal institutions in this country. All the above would require large increases in funding, and a diversion of effort in the society.

He said that in Florida, prisoners are living in tents because there isn't room for them in the institutions. In Georgia, the state is terminating sentences of felons so machines, in any evem, aren i always the same parcels that are dumped in. For these mechanical marvels, which cost $150 million to develop, often rip, tear and snarl the packages as if they had been mauled by some ferocious beast. Our past warnings, meanwhile, have been confirmed by a congressional investigation. A confidential report calls the Postal Service's mechanization attempt a.

costly failure. "The whole system," states the report, "has been laden with superfluous gimmickry." For example, an "Automatic Vehicle Identification" system electronically chronicles the arrival and departure of trucks at the bulk mail centers. Previously, the report notes, "this function was handled very easily by a simple file card index." As another example of overen-gineering, the centers have installed complex, telescoping conveyors. Suggests the report: "A simple piggyback conveyor is much easier to operate, cheaper, considerably less dangerous and less prone to jamming." Packages Opened When a package jams in the conveyor, the address is often torn off. Then the package has to be opened to seek some clue where it is supposed to be deliv- ered.

Then it has to be re-wrapped and processed through the precarious machinery again. Many parcels simply have been thrown out. Others have been tossed into corners in post offices, trucks and other hiding places where investigators hopefully won't notice them. Another dangerous mechanism is the sack shake-out machine. This contrivance lifts sacks full of parcels and dumps them, sometimes letting them drop as much as five feet.

The breakables, of course, usually In short, the confidential report charges that the new system, with all its fancy machinery, was still "underdesigned from the standpoint of damage prevention." Under the guidance of Rep. Charles Wilson, the investigators discovered that the Postal Service is actually losing business "because the 'advanced mechanization requires sturdier packaging. Business mailers are turning to United Parcel Service, which can deliver more fragile packages unharmed more often. "While UPS strives for simplicity and efficiency, the bulk mail centers are engineered full of unnnecessary gadgets which do not perform as well as the less-sophisticated UPS equipment," the House investigators found. Lack Of Concern Indeed, the report notes that the investigators "were amazed at the seeming lack of regard for damage prevention incorporated into the Bulk Mail Facility design." The great parcel post fiasco has helped push the Postal Service to the brink of bankruptcy.

And the mail users are paying for it in the form of higher stamp prices. Copyright, 1976, United Feature Syndicate, Inc. that new prisoners can be admitted. He said South Dakota is lucky because its Penitentiary isn't full. But even with a new, massive effort to combat crime after the fact, the nation would still have a problem in the high recidivism rate.

Answer Has To Be Prevention "The answer has to be in crime prevention," Kellem said. He gave an analogy, in which he compared the prevention of crime to preventive medicine, in which health offices combat disease by attacking the germs, or inoculating the public against smallpox. Crime prevention would involve reducing the opportunities of the criminal to commit a crime, and an aggressive educational program in the schools. The latter would involve much more than a yearly public appearance by a policeman. Courses would teach youngsters how to cope with crime, and would seek to reduce the exposure or opportunity for young people to learn criminal behavior.

There would be an earnest effort to break the progression, for juveniles, from petty theft to grand larceny, to armed robbery. Older Americans are vulnerable to criminals, too. The seminar on the Sioux Falls College campus last week was intended to help them combat criminals. The seminar was sponsored by the American Association of Retired Persons, the National Retired Teachers Association, the South Dakota Criminal Justice Educators and Trainers Association and a number of related groups. Everyone has a s.take in reducing the crime problem.

Kellem cited a number of steps each citizen can take to reduce his or her vulnerability to crime: lock the doors at home, lock the car and put the keys "in his pocket, engrave valuables with OPERATION IDENTIFICATION numbers, etc. Kellem knows his field: he's an electronic security specialist on the staff of the National Crime Prevention Institute, School of Police Administration, University of Louisville. Involving The Citizen There are other things that citizens can do. George J. Washnis of the Center for Governmental Studies in Washington, cites some of them in his new book, "Citizen Involvement in Crime Prevention." He writes that citizen groups, working with the police, have been major factors in reduction of crime.

Methods include block associations, mobile patrols, community councils, crime crusades, volunteer radio-alert patrols, auxiliary police and uniformed civilians and special projects involving school and youth patrols, high-rise security, employe protection groups, and taxi patrols. Many of the above methods are more applicable to large cities than the countryside, but some of them can be adapted to South Dakota. Citizens must forsake a passive role for involvement and study the criminal to combat the threat. Cooperation with police is essential. It occurs to us that crime prevention is preferable to putting up with an increasing crime rate.

Formal education in crime pre--vention could reduce the threat. Let's interdict the criminal and lessen his opportunities to rip off, maim or murder his neighbor. It's worth a try. Bicentennial Flashback March 21 On this date 200 years ago, a New York printer complained to the Committee of Safety that local merchants had harassed him, for printing a reply to Thomas Paine's "Common He was accused of disloyalty and all of his leaflets were destroyed. Favorite Bible Thought Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Matthew 27:26. Faith in Jesus Christ should never be traded for a lesser loyalty. How vuiGAR" Falls sioux ARGUS-LEADER A Newspaper for the Home 200 S. Sioux Falls, S.O. 57102 Published afternoon and Sunday morning by Sioux Falls Newspapers, a Speldel Newspaper William H.

Leopard, President, Publisher John Koll, Controller, Vice-President Anson Yeager, Executive Editor Vernon E. Riley, Production Manager Largest Daily Circulation in South Dakota Official City and County Newspaper Sioux Falls City Home Delivery by Newspapercarrler Evenings and Sunday 4.00 per month in advance Subscription Rates by Mall in Advance In South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska Evening and Sunday by Mall, 7 Issues a Week Mo. 3 Mo. 24.00 12.50 All Other Outside Above Four States Evening and Sunday by Mail, 7 Issues Week 6 Mo. 3 Mo.

33.50 11.25 Single Copy 15 Daily 35 Sunday 1970 lot AngtfMftnvft Pressler: Farm Ties Not A Facade 1 Yr. 40.00 1 Mo. 5.25 1 Yr. 60.00 Mo. 6 50 In Sioux Falls, It you do not receive your paper on a weekday call 3M-1130 before 7.00 p.m.; If you do not receive your paper on Sunday morning call 3361130 before 11:00 a.m..

and delivery will be made. Member ot The Associated Press, Audit Bureau of Circulations aecuna nasi posTage paia at sioux Falls, soutn Dakota Vol. 91 No. 81 concerned factual statements about the number of companies involved in the international grain trade, etc. The theme of my conclusion was that there must be more openness about international grain trade and that co-ops and farm organizations should consider getting more involved.

However, this in no way justifies the utilization of the Washington Post language in the explanatory material. No deliberate copying was intended. I have taken internal steps with my staff to assure proper footnoting and more importantly distinctions in the original research stage between articles for my information on issues and those designed for publication. We shall continue to write and speak on trying to get agricultural products the same priority as our industrial products have for import and export under the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT). The current heavy beef imports, while exports are limited, are hurting South Dakota cattlemen and are probably the most vivid of my farm background.

During my campaign and since coming to Washington, I have always emphasized that international agricultural trade agreements probably have a greater impact on South Dakota farm prices than our domestic farm policy has. I have spoken and written on this subject on a number of occasions. Since coming to Congress, my administrative assistant, Loren Carlson, and I have been building a file on international trade that affects agricultural products. In January of this year, we submitted an article on this subject which was prepared by a member of our staff, who believed the paper was a factual background for my personal use. Unfortunately, several sentences in the beginning part of the article were almost identical to a Washington Post article.

It goes without saying that I bear full responsibility for anything that goes out of my office. The Anderson article does not point out that the main conclusions of my article were completely different from the Post article. The identical material Commentary The following statement by U.S. Rep. Larry Pressler, is in response to Jack Anderson's column carried on this page Saturday, which was headlined "Larry Pressler Accused Of Plagiarism." By REP.

LARRY PRESSLER Insofar as Mr. Anderson's contention that I have a "farmboy facade" and that I "lack experience in agricultural affairs," let me say that I did grow up on a family farm near Humboldt; I was in 4-H for several years; I kept profit and loss (which were frequently loss) records on beef, hog, and dairy, livestock projects. For what it is worth, I won local, state, and national 4-H awards including a trip to the World's Agricultural Fair in Cairo, Egypt, as a 4-H delegate in 1961 and was one of a handful of 4-H winners selected to present the National 4-H Report to the late President John F. Kennedy in his oval office in 1963. I mention this not in a self-laudatory sense but rather to cite the facts planned for us by Mr.

Gordon Neidan, Mr. Don Erickson, Mrs. Gloria Zellhoefer and Mr. Robert Caselli. The courtesies and hospitality extended to us by those involved in this exchange from Sioux Falls has made a lasting impression on all of us.

A typical comment made to me by one of our students I think sums up our feelings. He said that if he had to choose one week of his life that had been the greatest it would be the week we visited Sioux Falls. We are anxiously awaiting the first week in May when the Washington High School Exchange Group visits with us in Tuscaloosa. Thanks to all involved for this memorable experience. Mrs.

Martha Ann Maxwell, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Slogans Add Gaiety Horsekillers Accused Of Causing Shortages To The Editor: In response to your Mar. 7 article "They Kill Horses, Don't They," I think there will be a shortage of cheap horses for beginners to learn riding. These flesh merchants are pricing all others out of the market. Who can afford a $400 saddle horse? Instead of giving joy it will be eaten by some Frenchman or Belgian.

The next step may be, as in Texas, rustling horses to be sold to these merchants of death. Race horses and Appaloosas have shown up in Texas slaughterhouses. One horse, worth $150,000, was stolen and sold for $200 to one of these slaughterhouses where it was reduced to steak for Europeans. Who can say that grade horses are no good except to be eaten? Give them a chance! Miss Betty Reilly, Huron, S.D. City Should Use Bonds To Buy Public Utilities To The Editor: I feel that this is the time for the residents of Sioux Falls to express their unhappiness with the city of Sioux Falls and the City Commission for the use of city bonds to finance the development of real estate for private firms.

The use of these bonds should be limited to undertakings for general city development. The city could use these bonds for the purchase of public utilities, like the South Dakota holdings of Cengas. This could allow the city to use the income from the utilities to provide public transportation and aid education programs (specifically teacher pay) and give the residents tax relief, rather than the constant and un-livable tax increase program that has been established in the city. I believe that civic-minded residents should bring all possible pressure to retain ownership of Cengas within South Dakota for the benefit of South Dakota. Alvin H.

Baer, 2121 E. 10th St. Sioux Falls She Thanks Residents For Their Hospitality To The Editor: The week of Feb. 21 I had the pleasure of chaperoning 32 Tuscaloosa High School students on a Domestic Student Exchange Program with Washington High School students. We as a group were overwhelmed by the varied itinerary LAFF-A-DAY been as comprehensive or appealing as that of the Free Soilers of another period, who promised "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men." Slogans may not make votes, but they certainly add to the gaiety of a campaign.

Perhaps that is what is lacking so far in the 1976 run for votes no slogans, or at least none which have caught the public fancy. Group Honors Eagles Yankton Daily Press Dakotan One of the first campaign slogans to find popular favor in the U.S. was the "Tippecanoe and Tyler, of more than a century ago. Since then every presidential campaign has had its own war cry, many forgotten, others still well remembered. Many of these slogans had an appeal to man's basic needs, foods in particular.

Opposition to President Van Buren promised two dollars a day and roast Many years later it was McKinley's full dinner pail, and Hoover's chicken in every pot although Hoover later denied its authorship. None of these slogans has ever NEW YORK (AP) Author Rick Carrier is the founder and president of the United States of America Bald Eagle Command, an organization created to honor the eagle. The Command hopes to erect a monument to the bald eagle, which was selected by the Continental Congress June 20, 1782, as their motif for the Great Seal and the symbol of this nation. A Sign Of Age Mason City Globe-Gazette When girls start calling you "sir" about all you have to look forward to is your Social Security. "I see that Dr.

Morgan's stopped making house calls.".