The News from Paterson, New Jersey • 6

6 THURSDAY, JULY 6, 1 978 The News, Possoic County, N.J. Comment Dress Codes at the Beach A PoQr Show, Mr. Napier Todays The Don't-Call-Us-And-We-Won't-Call-You, Award goes fo the Tel Aviv Zoo, which is presently engaged in a feverish effort to recapture a parrot that escaped from its keeping last week. It seems the parrot has decided to resettle in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan where it has twice bitten through overhead telephone lines, cutting off service to dozens of families. The problem, appar It's that time of year again.

The sun is hot, the beaches call and in some towns where those beaches are located city fathers have passed some uncalled-for ordinances. In Ocean Beach, a Long Island resort community, a young man casts fearful glances this way and that. Satisfied no police are in sight, he furtively reaches under his coat and pulls out an ice cream cone. Why such stealth? In an effort to combat unsightly litter, Ocean Beach this year passed a municipal ordinance forbidding people from eating or drinking anything on the public walks. A spokesman for the Ocean Beach village government reports residents are unhappy with this new law.

In fact, the town just voted in a new administration that is debating whether to repeal it. But there are other examples of municipal beach overkill, right here in the Garden State. In Cape May, a town very conscious of its Victorian heritage, the local government has instituted a dress code. The regulations prohibit males over the age of 12 from wearing "skin-tight, form-fitting, bikini-type shorts or slacks" on the beaches, boardwalk, promenade or any public or quasi-public place in the city. ently, has been continu- I ing all week.

The armjl Government agencies often operate in a closed system of information. Whether it's education, police work, sanitation or capital improvements, the primary gatherer, processor and dispenser of information about how well a given agency of government is doing its job is more often than not the agency itself. This isn't necessarily a problem unless officials have something to hide or try to distort the information to buttress their own position. Yet the danger that the public will be misled is always there. In education, only some of the information is controlled locally.

Because the responsibility is shared by both local and state officials, neither group has complete control over information about student performance. For example, the state has given students in various grades a statewide test of reading and math skills to determine how well it is meeting its thorough and efficient education obligations. For the past four years or so it as been the Education Assessment Program (EAP) test. Thus no matter what local officials might claim about the success of their individual educational systems, the public at least has been able to compare test results with those in other school districts. As was shown Jast-tfeek, this dilution of control over information is a good thing.

Last year, the EAP test was given to fourth, seventh and tenth graders. As we all know, students in the cities didn't fare very well especially in Paterson, where students did worse than in any other city in the state. This year, the state administered a redesigned achievement test, the Minimum Basic Skills test, to third, sixth, ninth and eleventh graders. -The results haven't been officially released yet, but they are supposed to be significantly better than those for the earlier EAP test. This is where control of information becomes critical.

Quick to win a few points of his own last week, school superintendent Frank Napier, leaped at the higher scores as a means of showing how well Paterson's schools have performed in improving the reading and math skills of their students Paterson's director of testing and evaluation procedures, Harry Ciarleggio, chimed in and credited the success to remedial classes and to a course he gave teachers on how to give an exam. The problem is that the two tests are in no way comparable. Both the reading and math tests given to 11th graders were easier than the EAP test given to them as 10th graders. Thus the fact that students did better on the MBS test doesn't mean anything. What is disturbing is that Mr.

Napier tried to distort the results to improve his own image and that of the board. If Mr Napier had sole control over information about the tests the public 'would have known only what he wanted them to know. We would have believed that in the short space of a year, Paterson's schools and been turned around. Mr. Napier wasn't successful because he wasn't the only one who knew what the tests were about For that we're grateful.

We wish to add that the reasons for Paterson's failure to educate many of its students adequately are complex, and blame cannot rest solely with the board. But if a superintendent claims that because of his efforts he has improved the system in such a short time, it only lends credence to the idea that the superintendent and the board have been negligent in the past. from the neck or the top of the shoulders to within 10 inches above the knee." The ordinance further stipulates all such apparel "must be fastened with buttons, snaps, zippers, lacing, frogs or other suitable fasteners," And since 1944, Ocean City has'hacf a law on the books demanding that all persons keep their torsos covered, including the front-rib area. The American Civil Liberties Union recently announced it will challenge the dress code ordinances in these New Jersey shore towns. In the meantime, the ACLU says it wants an injunction against the enforcement of these.

laws, because Superior Court litigation coujd take up to six months. We fully support theACLU's action. We believe town officials' fears are overdrawn. We doubt that New Jersey towns will lose tourist dollars because families will be repulsed by bizarre sights on the beaches. Even if that were true, dress codes are not the proper function of town government.

In their zest for establishing a family image, these communities, are in danger of throwing out the baby of personal freedom with the beach water of bared chests. dress is a matter of taste, and the shoreis a place for us all to enjoy, not one fit which we should be judged. Communities may have the power to outlaw nudity on their shores. However, for most purposes, ordinances should be confined simply to ensuring the public's safety or health. And in this regard, we see little connection between the public's health and safety and whether a person is wearing a shirt.

radio "action line" program reports telephone company technicians who have twice repaired the severed wires refuse to fix them again until the bird is safely in tow. But the zoo and the army had better be careful when and if they approach this feathered wire-snapper. After all, you can't expect a parrot to turn the other beak; In Wildwood, the home of the Miss New Jersey pagaent, the city council last Tuesday passed stringent new dress requirements. The new law says that in all public places other than the beach anyone over 12 years of age may not wear bathing suits or "other scanty attire" unless he is "clothed with a cloak or other suitable outer garment extending The Letters Column you you no.tfrer no(FTerYoy The Real Bias in Med Schools years several instances where certain stock dividends are now 100 percent taxable instead of being eligible for tax exclusion by percentages. Take a look at my I.R.S.

Forms 1099 and similar forms reporting total yearly dividends of a stockholder. Thereby hangs a tale. 4) Investors are paying an individual income tax on their stock holdings through dividends and at the same time the stock issuing corporations are paying corporate taxes at the source. This is a case of dual taxation. 5) Were there no investors (very rich or less), there would be no Big Business providing employment to insure adequate incomes for the many.

Were there no Big Business, this country would soon be on a par with the ever-widespreading non-capitalist nations everywhere. 6) Every investor, big or small, is contributing in part to improving the national economy by his or her support of industry, as investors, by keeping the economy alive and prospering so that Inflation may one day soon be a very dead issue. This sure beats stuffing one's money in the mattress and sitting back to do nothing contributory. MRS. DORIS P.

WILSON Oakland EDITOR'S NOTE: We suggest, the writer check with her attorney or accountant. Capital assets are taxed only on a sale or exchange. Whether or not the writer Is rich, of course, is a matter ot opinion. But the individuals who will benefit from the Steiger bill happen to be in the upper income brackets. The Steiger bill, in addition, does nothing about dividends, which are deemed ordinary income.

Finally, we were not attacking the sfock market. Our point was that the Steiger bill will do little to accomplish Its avowed purpose, which is to stimulate capital investment. Parochial Schools Work When you consider the chaotic condition of education today in our public schools, it is heartening to read of the splendid results achieved by the students of St. Philip the Apostle School in Clifton, N.J. St.

Philip's School received a plaque for the tog school in the state, and a plaque for 'the top school In (he county. In a contest in which over 350 schools participated, and more than 10,000 students, the seventh and eighth grades in St. Philip's School made second place in the top twenty schools in the state. The seventh grade also ranked first in Passaic County. Governor Under Glass When our not so esteemed Governor ran for his first term in office he remarked that his administration would be one under glass.

There was also a campaign commercial that while he was prosecutor he could not be touched. That was supposed to have been said by organized crime. It seems to me that while he may be against organized crime, he Is not against the so-called "White Collar Crime," as evidenced by his appointment to Secretary of State Edward J. Crabiel who but for the statute of limitations was to have been indicted for conspiracy. Then there was Matty Feldman who pleaded guilty to bribery and was fined $6,000.

So now we have the case of Harold Woodson a strong advocate of our Income Tax not paying his for a period of two years, both state and federal. He has had a vacation for a few weeks and now our governor (under glass) has given Woodson his job back as if nothing happened. CHARLES PARKIN Clifton The Steiger Bill Re: The editorial, "The Steiger Bill Helping the Rich," in the June 20 issue. A few points need clarification, as follows: 1) The writer is not one of the wealthy stockholders referred to as the only beneficiaries to gain by a proposed cut in capital gains taxes under the introducbill authored by Rep. William Steiger As a middle-income retiree, my income is partially derived from my late husband's estate consisting of an investment portfolio.

Such stock holdings comprise capital assets, none of which are actively traded in and out of the- stock market. Therefore, the editorial statement that capital gains represent profits only through the sale of capital assets (stocks, bonds, land) is in error. Capital gains profits also accrue to stock holdings kept by individuals in their portfolios. And such individuals also pay the required tax on capital gains. 2) The statement that reduction in the capital gains tax would only serve to "help the rich to help themselves" is erroneous, since middle-income stockholders (like myself) would also benefit from such a reduction and worthily so 3) In addition to increased taxes on capital gains since, 1969, it so happens that this investor has found in recent JACK ANDERSON Having been a teacher for the greater part of my life, I am deeply impressed with the superior achievement of parochial school children.

This is graphic proof that love and discipline, which prevail in St. Philip's School, really work. All the money which ii being poured for frills Into the public schools would be better spent to help the parochial schools who have been on the short end of the funding. They concentrate on the basics. LUCIA ALCARO Clifton The Firing of Mr.

Wilson The current bruhaha over the non-reappointment of Mr. Dennis Wilson, Fair Lawn music teacher and band director, seems to be escalating beyond the bounds of all reason. Gross overstatements and unsupported charges are. being made by Mr. Wilson and some of his supporters, which neither impress nor persuade, and which serve neither the interests of the teacher nor those of the school system.

The wild assertion by Mr. Tedesco, Board President, that Mr. Wilson's termination is part of a "rape" of the school system by certain board members, and the equally wild assertion made this week by Mr. Wilson and Mr. Tedesco of the existence of a nefarious conspiracy among parents, administrators and board members, without any supporting proof, is disgraceful.

Mr, Wilson's distress at his situation is most understandable, and his remarks are, to an extent, forgivable. However, Mr. Tedesco, as the Board President, seems to be taking advantage of his unique position. He should realize that his long personal friendship with Mr. Wilson and his family place his remarks in a context which deprives him of much of their impact.

As a parent with no children in the band program, I do not pretend to know all of the facts and am in no position to say which side is right. I do, however, Know most of the parents on both sides of this question from my years of service on the Board of Education. Without exception, they are all fine people, genuinely Interested in the music -program, and concerned with its improvement. None of them have the slightest interest in running the program, but only wish to be supportive of It. For anyone to cast aspersions on their motives is wholly unwarranted.

Mr. Wilson's case presents an issue about which reasonable people of good intentions can have differing opinions. There is nothing unusual or wrong in that; nor is there anything unusual or wrong about arguing the question on its merits. But there simply is no need to fill the air with demigogic bombast and personal atacks. It would serve the interests of all concerned if there Were an end to such remarks.

HARVEY R. BROWNE Paterson most difficult to prosecute. Few parents are willing to testify to something that might destroy their child's life." A secret transcript of an FBI wiretap of a conversation between a Cianfrani bagman and a friend indicates the scope of the problem. The bagman was overheard saying that a Cianfrani aide "told me, eh, it ain't only me that there's 11, 12, 13 other guys that are going after it too. Eh, you think I'm the only one that went to him with favors like that.

There's 10 other guys, you know, that came to him with people, to get their kidsin." FBI sources also told us that onat least four Rep. Dan Flood (D-Pa.) intervened with authorities at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital in Philadelphia to get favorite sons admitted. A Hahnemann official told us disgustedly: "Every time we testified before the state legislature about our budget, we were given names by legislators of applicants'who were supposed to get preferential treatment." The key to getting into private medical schools is having a father who will kick in with a hefty contribution. In WASHINGTON The nine Supreme Court Justices ran off In all directions like the proverbial Chinese fire drill team in handing down their momentous reverse-discrimination ruling. Their miasma of legal language will be studied intently by school administrators and attorneys for its Implications on race questions.

Unfortunately all the verbiage from the high court ignored much more important factors that figure in medjeal school admissions; economic and political payola. While Allan Bakke was waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether he would be admitted to a California medical school, we conducted a special investigation of how money and connections influence the selection process in some of the nation's most prestigious medical schools. We found that qualified candidates are being discriminated against in favor of two other groups: the sons and daughters of wealthy families who are accepted because their parents, made large monetary contributions to the schools, or those favored because powerful politicians pulled strings on their behalf "While the middle class and the minorities are fighting it out with Bakke over who should be admitted to medical schools," a Health, Education and Welfare Department official told our reporter Murray Waas, "nobody seems to notice that the rich are still being assured of their quota." Our investigation uncovered evidence of payoffs and political Influence in more than a dozen medical schools, including the University of California, Davis campus, where Bakke was rejected. Officials at Davis have coneeded they admitted students because their parents were political bigwigs, prominent doctors or influential attorneys. In one instance, a female applicant was accepted at Davis because her father was a former chancellor at a California university.

Several officials at Davis ruefully note that Bakke would have been accepted, with no historic appeal to the Supreme Court, had not'at least five other less qualified white applicants been accepted ahead of him because of their family clout. In Pennsylvania, two powerful state politicians have been sent to jail for accepting money to wangle state medical and jdental school admissions for children of the wealthy. Herbert Fineman, former speaker of the Pennsylvania house of representatives, was accused by the Justice Department of taking $36,000 to intervene on behalf of four applicants. Fineman ultimately was convicted of obstruction of justice and sent to prison. State Sen.

Henry "Buddy" Cianfrani was charged with 106 counts of bribery and other crimes, including the acceptance of money for medical school payoffs. But Justice Department sources say the convictions may be only the tip of the scandal. Observes one prosecutor: "For every case that has resulted in an indictment, there may be two dozen more. This type of case is one of the An Independent Newspaper 88th Year id.t'OB Mj.ryB at. EOrQ 6 Hjines Mw mu, William Dean Singleton Publisher Bertram J.

Ker.sen President 1976, a studem sued the Chicago Medical School on grounds his family contributed $40,000 to insure his acceptance and ultimately a diploma which he never received. In an Alice-in-Wonderland decision, the court held that the school had to honor the contract by giving him the diploma but at the same time banned him from practicing medicine. The student's attorneys submitted subpoenaed records, which showed the parents of 270 of the 349 applicants accepted at the Chicago school from 1970 through 1974 had coughed up almost $11 million in contributions. This averaged out to approximately $40,000 per student. A subsequent federal audit discovered that 25 of those who gained entry after their parents had made sizable donations later received federal loans and scholarships on grounds they were "needy" students.

Investigation showed that the ''needy" supplicants received $87,000 in federal money even though their families had been able to ante up $387,000 to the school. Whatever the upshot of the Bakke decision, the medical school payola system is expected to continue in the future. One official told us: "When you have 100 applicants who are competing for one spot, you're bound to have people who are going to play the game corruptly." This is borne out by a letter received recently by "Boston University from the doting parents of an aspiring doctor. "Our son has recently applied to your school," it "We understand that sometimes private schools try to find potential large contributors among applicants. If this is the case at your school, we are open to suggestions." David Burgin Editor James Marnell Managing Editor Joe Edwards Assistant Managing Editor Anthony Verga News Editor Bernard Silverstein Metropolitan Editor Scott Muldoon Editorial Page Editor Harry Haines Assistant to the Publisher Richard Armani Vice Presldent-Adienislng Director Frank Sherman Circulation Director Joseph Wilson Operations Manager James Jackson Comptroller The News welcomes letters from its readers.

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