Lebanon Daily News from Lebanon, Pennsylvania • Page 24

24 Lebanon Daily News, Saturday, July 17, Dateline History Refuses Letter Addressed 'George Washington, Pair Claim Nurses Of Murders By JEROME TURK WM. D. ELLIS NEW YORK, July 17,1776 A war of words is developing here where Gen'l George Washington has been momentarily expecting a massive attack by one of the greatest armadas assembled so far in this century more than 130 British ships more than 9,000 Regulars already in New York harbour. A letter was today refused acceptance and returned unopened for the second time because of the way it was addressed. The envelope read "George Washington, Esquire, andca." Admiral Lord Richard Howe, commander of the British Navy here and one of the king's Peace Commissioners, had sent the letter.

Another Peace Commissioner Is Maj. Gen'l Sir William Howe, the admiral's brother and commander of the British invasion army, which is expected soon to be reinforced by thousands of Hessian mercenaries. The etceteras following Washington's name on the envelope represented a clumsy attempt by Lord Howe to indicate the proper rank of the American commander in chief without saying so. As the king's representative, Howe obviously cannot recognize the new United States of America and their military commander at this time. Howe obviously cannot get a letter delivered, either.

The incident actually began two afternoons ago when a British Naval officer under a flag of truce came up the harbour in a small boat from H.M.S. Eagle, Howe's flagship. He was met by American boatmen who stopped him and passed word of his arrival to Gen'l Washington's headquarters. Adjutant Gen'l Joseph Reed was directed to go to meet the officer aboard the small boat. At the confrontation, Howe's messenger, Lt.

Philip Brown, said, "I have a letter, sir, from Lord Howe to Mr. Washington." Reed replied that he knew of no person in the army with that title. "Sir, will you look at the address?" pleaded Brown. Reed looked but would not touch the N. Eighth Ave.

Has Reopened North Eighth Avenue reopened Friday afternoon, Nofie Catalano, director of streets and public improvements has announced. The street has been closed while work is being done by Conrail railroad crews to repair the grade crossing, where the street crosses the main railroad line. Catalano said that beginning Tuesday morning, North Twelfth Street will be closed for two to three weeks while the grade crossing there is rebuilt. Crews from Conrail are in the process of rebuilding or repairing all the major rail grade crossings within the city. Yolks To Raise envelope.

It read: "George Washington, Esq." "No, 1 cannot receive that letter," Reed said finally. The British officer saluted and signaled his oarsmen away but then came about abruptly and most civilly asked by what title Washington chose to be addressed. "You arc sensible, sir, of the rank of Gen'l Washington in our Army." "Yes, sir, we are. I am sure Lord Howe will lament exceedingly this affair, as the letter is quite civil and not a military one. He laments he was not here a little sooner." Admiral Howe arrived with a large fleet of ships from England which dropped anchor here four days ago but that was nearly two weeks after the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia.

Sympathetic to the Americans, the Howe brothers have been empowered to negotiate before they fight. But if the letter to Washington is one example of Admiral Howe's diplomatic skill, the fighting may come sooner than later. Howe was no more successful by adding the etceteras to the envelope of the letter in his second attempt to have it delivered today. One thing seems certain. The affair of the misaddressed letter is not over.

Everything turns on Lord Howe's next move. Make Sure Where Pet Is Going Free To Good Home." Many times this notice appears, and hundreds of county residents give up unwanted puppies or other animals to strangers who promise them a "good home." Unknowingly, they are condemning the animals to death in laboratories or to the auction block of "fast buck" dealers. The Humane Society of Lebanon County warns that many animals given away in this manner end up being sold to laboratories for experimentation, or for profit by unprincipled dealers. "Fast buck" dealers operate by obtaining "free to good home" animals for resale cheap to anyone who wants them. Nothing can be done about it because the animal was originally given away.

The Humane Society stresses: "Find out who it is you'regiving your pet to." Dogs and cats are used by experimenters in many ways. Bones are intentionally broken for research on broken bones, open heart operations are performed on animals with sound hearts. Drugs are given to dogs to see if they'll die from them. If you have an animal you no longer can keep, the best thing to do is surrender it to your local animal shelter. You will at least know if the animal cannot be found a good home, the animal will be euthanized quickly and painlessly and not suffer at the hands of an experimenter.

Prices ANN ARBOR, Mich. (UPI)A male nurse and a freelance writer say they have provided information to the FBI that could exonerate two Filipino nurses accused of murdering five patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Frank Burns, 27, a nurse at the hospital, and Susan Kybett. 37, an Ann Arbor-based writer, said Friday the FBI and other investigators have failed to adequately pursue their theory. The two said they are convinced that the cause of the deaths, as well as a series of mysterious breathing arrests at the hospital last July and August, were caused by contaminated intravenous solutions. Two nurses, Filipina B.

Narciso, 30, Ypsilanti, and Leonora M. Perez, 31, Evanston, 111., were arrested by the FBI June 16 and charged with murdering five patients and poisoning 10 others. Burns and Miss Kybett charged the nurses were arrested in an atmosphere of hysteria and that federal officials failed to probe the possibility that the deaths may have resulted from contaminated solutions. While conceding they have no proof that contamination was the cause of the deaths, the two said they spent 33 hours earlier this month examining intravenous solution supplies at the hospital. They also said they are convinced authorities have failed to investigate Baxter- Travenol Laboratories, the Chicago firm that supplies IV solutions to the Ann Arbor facility.

A spokesman for the Chicago company termed the suggestion that their products were contaminated as "farfetched." "The FDA (Federal Drug Administration) apparently did check the company's stocks in August and September of last year," Miss Kybett said. "But the deaths had been happening since July and we think August and September was pretty damn late. "It's got to be contaminated bottles," she said. "We cannot prove it; there's checking to be done. But it simply is the only answer.

Nurses simply do not kill for no motive especially not two dedicated Catholic nurses." Burns is a friend of both women charged with the murders, but Miss Kybett said she has never met either of them. Burns, who has worked at the hospital for three years, said he is convinced the nurses are innocent and that contamination was to blame for the deaths. "There's no other way to explain said. Around The Town What People Are Talking About On Monday the Lebanon Daily News Inquiring Reporter asked this question: Who do you think Jimmy Carter will select as his running mate? Let's see how good they were at guessing: Drop Medical Rating System Two Charged Two local residents are being charged with the possession of alcoholic beverages in a city park it was reported by Patrolman Roberto Cruz- Irizarry. They were identified as Cynthia Stoner.

50 N. 12th and Roger Miller, 121 N. 12th St. The incident occurred at 12:45 a.m. on the Beautex Playground, the report states.

By MICHAEL.l.CONLON WASHINGTON (UPI) -Two organizations sepresenting nearly 19,000 doctors have agreed to quit using a rating system which the Federal Trade Commission says may have been used to fix fees for medical care. The FTC said Friday it proposed a complaint that the "relative value scales" of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists "have the effect of establishing, maintaining or otherwise influencing fees charged by their members." About 6,200 surgeons and 12,500 gynecologists belong to the two Chicago-based groups. The FTC said the two organizations agreed to a negotiated settlement after the agency proposed its complaint. The FTC said the scales assign numerical ratings to the various services offered by doctors Two Men Jailed For Car Thefts Two men are in the Lebanon County prison today following their arrest stemming from two incidents in the city in May and June. Louis Tabb, Harrisburg.

and Smith, 805 Coleman Circle, were charged with burglary in connection with cars stolen from Wayne Sholly's Car Lot, Eighth and Maple streets. Tabb has been charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of receiving stolen property and one count of criminal conspiracy. Smith was charged with burglary and criminal conspiracy. Both are in jail in lieu of $2,000 bail. Tabb was arrested in Harrisburg yesterday by Constable Marlin Keesey with an assist from local police.

Smith was arrested at his residence by City Del. Richard Hcverling, the investigating officer. Both were arraigned before Catherine Coyle. district justice. June Burglary Tabb is charged with breaking into the Sholly garage and stealing a 1973 auto on June 28.

Police reports 'also indicate that Tabb stole the registration plates from a car owned by Antonio Cardenas, 360 N. 14th St. According to police, on the same night as the Sholly burglary, Cardenas's registration plates were taken and replaced by dealer plates. The dealer plates on the Cardenas auto matched those on the car stolen from the lot. The Sholly auto was recovered in Harrisburg July 3.

According to police, both Smith and Tabb took part in the May 5 burglary at the lot. A 1970 auto was stolen on that occasion. Smith and Tabb were charged with conspiracy in this case. At the time of his arrest Smith was free on bail on charges of driving under the influence in Lebanon County. Tabb was out on bail for receiving stolen property and driving while under suspension.

He was also on parole for another charge. according to the importance of each service. While no prices as such are involved in the rating system, the agency said, a doctor can easily multiply the numbers involved by dollars and come out with how much more to charge for one kind surgery, for instance, than for a different kind of procedure or an office visit. "Publication of a relative value scale makes ft convenient for physicians to fij: prices across the board merely by agreeing on a uniform conversion factor," the FTC said. The action is the first corrective step taken as a result of the FTC's recently announced investigation of consumer costs and other aspects of the nation's health industry.

The consent agreement includes an order under which the two organizations will stop publishing the scales and will recall those already published. In addition the two groups will send a copy of the complaint and the order to all of their members, to all Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in the country and to government offices 'responsible for administrating Medicare and Medicaid. Poses Threat MURNAU, West Germany (UPI) A voracious, 30- pound, 4.5-foot pike in Froschhauser Lake has bitten four persons. The fish bites humans but not fish bait. Anglers have tried to land it in vain.

Suggestions that divers armed with harpoons hunt the fish were rejected because the water is too murky. Now police have forbidden night swimming in the lake and have set nets in an attempt to trap the fish. Pikes have sharp teeth in a mouth that resembles that of a shark. Experts say they can easily bite off a finger. The view has been expressed that a heat wave and resulting lack of oxygen in the lake has made the pike aggressive.

In any case, signs have been erected saying: "Caution Biting Fish At O- ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS. N.J. (UPI) Volkswagen of America has announced it will raise domestic prices on 1977 VW models to comply with United States anti-dumping regulations. Volkswagen said Friday it would not announce the amount of the price increases until its new models are received by dealers in several months. Nor would VW indicate how much of a price increase had been previously planned and what percentage of any price increase would be the result of the anli-dumping regulation.

The VW action stemmed from a Treasury Department investigation into the pricing by foreign automakers of their cars sold in the United States. The Treasury Department announced earlier this month it was sending letters to most foreign car makers selling in the United States, informing them if they had been found in violation of the regulations and by how much their prices would have to be adjusted either by increases here or reductions in their own countries. 1 ass it It- U.T I.J.- m'l -M vj.y jax-v i K- I. -v. it rs, i LOCATE BUS This is the school bus from which 26 elementary schoolchildren and their bis driver disappeared Thursday in California.

The empty bus, camouflaged with foliage, was found abandoned in a rural drainage ditch. The youngsters, aged 5 to 15 and mostly girls, were headed home from a field trip to the county fairgrounds swimming pool. Three children were dropped off at their homes before the bus disappeared. (UPI Telephoto) Debbie A. Rowles, factory Mrs.

Paul R. Vranesic worker, 523 N. Ninth St. legal secretary, 1557 Sholly 'Probably John Ave. Probably Katbryn E.

Plasterer, factory worker, 2013 Tunnei Hill Rd. "Probably Muskie." Charles R. Gingrich, retired, Lebanon RD 3 "John Glenn. He seems to be more popular with the American people." Harvey 1. Long, retired, 625 S.

Hth St. "I think it will be Church. He seems to be the better man and he's trying hard to get it." William L. Thurston, law student, 1831 E. Chocolate Hershey.

"I guess Mondale. Carter needs a northern candidate and also someone who is more liberal, to provide a balanced ticket." Survivor Recalls Flu Epidemic Of 1918 MANHATTAN, Kan. (UP1) Helene Dean Olson understands the concern of health officials who are preparing mass inoculations to prevent an epidemic of swine flu this winter. She survived a similar epidemic in 1918 that ravaged her hometown. Mrs.

Olson, just a youngster when the flu struck 58 years ago, recalls in vivid detail what life and death was like in Ames, Iowa, in en article she wrote for a Kansas history magazine. "The appeared in the spring issue of Kansas Quarterly, published through the English Department of Kansas State University. Mrs. Olson is a former mathematics teacher in Lawrence, and now is a housewife in Manhattan. "Everyone was tense those days and their faces showed the strain," she says in the article.

"People didn't laugh. Life was grim. Our household was very quiet." Mrs. Olson said talk of the flu became very personal for her very quickly. "I first became aware of the awfulness of the flu epidemic when Forrest Clark, one of the boys in my neighborhood, died after being ill only three wrote.

Then, she recalled, a young friend of hers visited and told her Frank Coulter was dead. Ruling May Aid Draft Evaders NEW YORK (UPI) A Brooklyn federal court judge, in a ruling that may affect thousands of draft evaders, dismissed draft evasion charges against a former New York City resident on the grounds the government made no attempt to return him to the United States for a speedy trial. The case involved Sidney Salzman, 29, now a resident of Jerusalem, who was indicted in June 1972 for failure to report for a pre-induction physical. Salzman at the time claimed he did not have the funds to report to a U.S. base at Livorno, Italy from where he was living, in Israel.

U.S. District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein, in a 106- page decision Friday, said the government made no attempt to procure his presence for a trial or even to "furnish him with transportation back to this country. "Speedy trial rules (of the 6th Amendment) in effect during the period of indictment all require dismissal for the government's failure to exert 'due in attempting Salzruan's return to the United States, the judge found. He said the "benign neglect of the Selective Service Administration was at odds with the speedy trial clause, generally." "Instead of informing him of travel available, (the government) let the indictment lie fallow," Weinstein said.

Weinstein said there were further considerations in reaching the decision, such as the present all-volunteer Army, no draft, and whether the dismissal would encourage evasion of any future draft laws. The judge said the case was one of thousands in which the "prosecution has done nothing to compel return." He said delays in bringing draft resisters to tria! could not happen if the government would "exert the same amount of effort to procure the appearance of Selective Service inductees for trials as it exerts to procure the appearance of persons charged with other federal felonies, such as bank robbery, interstate kidnaping and skyjacking." "Frank Coulter! I couldn't believe it. He was that nice young usher at church that was so good to the small fry and Mother and Father thought he was such a fine chap. He had ushered Sunday and Wednesday he During the next week schools were closed to avoid contact and spread of the disease, and people began wearing masks to prevent breathing germs. She said some families were stricken in toto, and most friends were either too sick to help or too frightened to go in and care for them.

"The situation was particularly desperate on farms, where there were cows that should be milked and animals bawling for food and no member in the family able to get to them. Neighbors tried to help, but so many were ill themselves. "But eventually schools opened again and people quit wearing masks and went to see their friends. Mothers went to the fresh graves of children and children went to the graves of parents, and those who didn't need to go visit loved ones' graves felt grateful they had been spared." To Operate Speed Traps Speed traps have beon measured at six locations in V. Cornwall Twp.

and will be ut into effect Monday, accordi ng to W. Cornwall Twp. police. Police said they will begin to issue tickets to offendi jrs immediately, stressing that no warning tickets will be giver i. LIVING ROOM SUITS 1 CASN CAIIT SPAYD'S FURNITURE im MM.

We invite You To Come See Hftat's Cooking At The HORN HORN family Restaurant Lebanon Plaza Shoppinf Center Specials Served 11 A.M. to 8 P.M. Roast Baked 2" Filled Cabbage Rolls Beef Marytaml Fried Chicken 9 With 2 V.f., R.I We mre taf mntmttce the netr SMewvlit Cmltt. Cumlnm ik, July 19..