Los Gatos Times-Saratoga Observer from Los Gatos, California • 6

lies Gatos Tlmes-Saratoga Observer Thursday Oct 10 1968 Picture from the past EDITORIALS Hospital beds needed if" rs AW -r A 1 the trees This triple-arch stone-concrete earth-filled bridge served from 1906 to 1955 the longest of any bridge at this location A path runs under the west arch and was used extensively to walk from the old grammar school to Memorial Park on the southwest side of the bridge The overwhelming argument in favor of Proposition 5 on the November ballot is that there are just not enough hospital beds in California to meet present demand let alone provide for the increasing needs of the future Recent figures released by the state reveal there is a statewide shortage right now of 21523 hospital beds and that only 85 per cent of current hospital bed needs are being met Proposition 5 will empower the state to guarantee private loans to non-profit hospitals at no cost to the taxpayer With direct state appropriations for hospital construction being eliminated the need for the loan program is indicated by studies of the bed shortage conducted by the Bureau of Health Facilities Planning and Construction of the State Department of Public Health i While the pressure is naturally greater on the more heavily populated areas the crisis is statewide Los Angeles and Orange counties now require 6500 new beds and the figure for the San Francisco Bay area is 6456 beds Hospitals in Central Coast San Joaquin Valley and Southern Sierra counties need 3838 more beds immediately for acute and long term care The North Coast Sacramento Valley and Northern Sierra counties are short 2970 beds to conform to national sUndards and in the South San Diego and the southeastern counties! need modernization or new construction of 1759 beds This Meow! Upper I Story By DR ARTHUR FOSTER Clinical Piychologist For sheer fascinating drama tew events outdid the disturbing scenes of Chicago police invading hotel rooms of youthful McCarthy supporters and beating the Uds or of police turning dogs loose on crowds in Alabama But the chief value of such events lies in making highly visible what has been hidden in the shadows Brutality is a widespread day-in-and-day-out police practice studies indicate that at least four per cent of all routine police-offender contacts involve brutality That amounts to thousands of incidents dally Many criminologists and police officials are in the front ranks of those expressing concern over the problem and in seeking solutions to it Better pay for police better train-lig better police-community relations these and many other excellent suggestions have been advanced Most of them make sense and probably should be instituted But to my mind the problem is partly perhaps essentially psychological and involves the very nature of the laws wtdeh police are expected to enforce There is a psychology of retributive violence which is built into many of our laws which encourages unnecessary violence fay police In fact it is a tribute to the discipline and maturity of most police that there more brutality than there is In my daily practice I often see the psychology of retributive violence on the individual leveL For the most part it rests on what I call illogical entitlements We all foel for instance that we are logically entitled not to have our property stolen When something of ours is stolen our reaction is usually: I want my stuff back and I want to make sure it happen again" The reaction to ttis logical entitlement is logical and involves a minimum desire to heap violence on the offending party But illogical entitlements told to produce a violent anger that wants to exact a pound of flesh from the offending party Illogical entitlements are almost alwayf based on morals a deep sense of what is "right" and how things to be tt has been my Observation that most really important things In life love honor respect friendship etc mix well with entitlements as to what to be or what is or "right" Yet all too often our entitlements get mixed UP with these matters Probably the biblical story of Cain and Abel is the first instance of the kind of retributive violence resulting from illogical entitlements Cain figured he was due as much of love as was Abel and when he get it he went out and gave Abel a fetal beating Our language is replete with popular 'aphorisms which recognize the connection between retributive violence and illogical entitlements knows no fury like the woman scorned" goes one such saying We have charged police with the task of defending a whole raft of society's illogical entitlements white middle class uses criminal codes as garbage cans" says University of Michigan law professor Yale -Kamisar "Whenever it has a problem it doesn't want to treat adequately it draws up a criminal statute" Almost all of our sex laws for instance are garbage cans for our illogical entitlements There are almost no sexual behaviors which are not unlawful and it has correctly been said that if there were policemen in our bedrooms we would all be in jail Most of our liquor laws are similar It is possible for a man to lose Ms place of business because a liquor agent decides that the place does not have the right tone" Our drug laws are worst of all I find it fascinating and probably not coincidental that a recent scientific study showed the three largest groups on the receiving end of routine police brutality were di units sex offender suspects and persons involved in any way with drugs tt is expecting a bit much of police to enforce what Los Angeles Chief Thomas Reddin deplores as laws without their getting overly enthusiastic about it Police are pretty much like you and Heaven knows our police need all the help we can give them We could make a good start by throwing out a lot of laws that igihold society's illogical by Walking down any street becomes obvious that a large portion of the youth of today are real individualists just by looking at their clothes Look over there now a person who believes in really doing things Ms own way Long hair beads a nehru jacket and boots a real individual And another persm who believes in following Ms own unique tastes wearing long hair beads a nehru jacket and boots too You see easy to tell the individuals they aU dress alike Except it does become a little difficult to pick them out at school what with the dress code and all Yes the Los Gatos High dress code is considered by some to be among the stricter codes in the area And even with the recent modifications allowing bermudas and pants dresses quite a bit of grumbling by students who feel that their freedom is being restricted One of themajor arguments presented is that teenagers should be free to express their own individuality But it does seem a little difficult to understand how they can consider it self-expression to dress exactly like so many other teenagers How is me supposed to be able to tell the individual individualists apart when they all look like every otter Is manner of dress the only way left to show how different a persm is? Secondly many youths resent the argument presented by school administrations that students must uphold the of the school Granted if it were just a matter of putting up a front to delude visitors and onlookers the Uds would have a valid complaint However there is no doubt but that Los Gatos IS me of the best schools in the state Students who are proud of this fact should want to help uphold ttis well deserved reputation They just have to accept Ounce of prevention These figures are exclusive of specialized facilities To combat this crisis Proposition 5 offers hospital authorities a fast and flexible answer to the vexing problem of finding the necessary financing for needed construction The proposition has been endorsed by the State Advisory Hospital Council comprised of leading Californians appointed by the Governor to advise the State Department of Public Health on facility planning and by the Allied Health Professions The latter group represents every major California medical and health organisation Proponents of Proposition 5 argue that the measure will save the state 120 million annually by substituting the loan program for direct appropriations by the state They contend the program will be self liquidating and no cost to the taxpayer The state is not currently empowered to assure loans for construction addition or renovation of hospitals or any other nonprofit or public building Agencies which would be able to secure state loans after recommendation of an Advisory Hospital Council if Proposition 5 is approved include non-profit or public hospitals extended care facilities hospital facilities or facilities for the treatment of the mentally retarded A simple majority vote is needed for the measure's passage We believe that a yes vote on Proposition 5 will help make sure that California's health needs continue to be met awareness to the dangers of fire Los Gatos Fire Chief Richard Wall reports that local residents generally are more fire conscious than the average citizen but urges constant realization of the cost and havoc fires can inflict He reports that in 1967 with a Town population of 18519 374 fire alarms were answered and $89225 in fire damage recorded Encouraging are the statistics for 1968 which showed that with a population of 21100 405 alarms were answered but the damage was down to $29732 We urge residents of this area to make fire prevention a conscious effort and to stop fires before they have a chance to start by good housekeeping and constant awareness Worthit explained He admitted however that some members of the committee were not pleased with the compromise felt a better compromise would have been to put motors at both ends" he said Another new feature is the body style which is in the shape of a filing cabinet are two basic models" Worthit said two-drawer coupe and a four-drawer sedan" The Bureaucrat also has a new safety feature Instead of using seat belts the occupants will be held in their seats with paper dips There are no doors on the car They have been replaced fay and "out baskets Neither does the Bureaucrat have a trunk Where the trunk would normally be it has a briefcase card will be add at federal agencies all over the country" Worthit said you can only buy them in triplicate" Asked why the Bureaucrat was equipped with 49 spare tires he said part of the car was built by the vtr -1 if i 4 SUMMERTIME VIEW Los Gatos bridge Hotel Lyndon and Sacred Heart Novitiate were three of the most photographed early Los Gatos landmarks The above photo loaned by James Guerin shows the Main Street bridge at "low tide with the creek moving slowly and leaves off Silver Lining By LOU DOWNING One of my small friends Is best characterized as "an accident looking for a place to happen" Things somehow seem to come apart in his hands Daddy" he says contritely Is all toparted" In today's urban society there Is much emphasis on "togetherness" "The family that prays together (or plays together or works together) stays to getter" we quote gUbty-and really think we mean It There Is no such word in our vocabulary as In our obsession with piddle together-ness we cram ourselves into buses siftways football stadiums theaters and even parks and campgrounds so thickly you stir us with a stick We build apartments town houses and condominiums with walls so thin that we can hear the couple nextdoorstlrrlng their coffee cheering their favorite television heroes quarreling with their children and with each otter putting away the groceries perhaps even brush-ing their teeth Even when we grant ourselves the luxury of a detached dwelling with lnsulative space outside we allow for only a modicum of privacy inside We divide the Interior into areas The dining area Is part of both the cooking and the living areas and the sleeping area Is part of the play area The latter must also be part of the cooking area for the convenience of the baby-watchers And the family area Is especially designed to be all things to all persons of the household Few are the doors between any of the areas! "Aloneness" becomes synonymous with We cannot bear to be by ourselves We drive to work In the company of the disc jockeys the newscasters and the used car salesmen We wait In the dentist's office with the soothing music of plped-in Viennese waltzes We shop to the accompaniment of the Strutters' Our youngsters do their homework seated between the stereo amplifiers with the telephone at one ear and the transistor radio at the otter A Greta Garbo who to be is regarded as a real nut an antisocial nothing In fact we hold solitude in such contempt that we send our children to a lonely room as punishment! Perhaps we need to examine our theory of a little more closely The family must be a solid unit we say always indivisible and always having fun What is so much fun? Being entertained and amused of course And what does the amusement consist of? Being together! As our young columnist friend would say a vicious circle" Not only is it vicious but endless-and all too often inescapable An older friend died recently leaving her partner who had always prided himself in their mutual dependence on each other utterly devastated John has never ledmed how to be alone how to enjoy the company of himself His life is a prism of emptiness and regret a prism no less cruel and bitter because it is of Ms own building If all of life must be lived in when will there be time to read the stories learn the songs paint the pictures create the ideas that make us worthwhile as Individuals-and as family members as well? St's a sure cinch that Anne Morrow Lindbergh was not inspired to write from the Sea" while spending the afternoon in Grand Central Station My small friend says Daddy if all toparted" a good Perhaps we need to be a little more topart in order to realty ever be together 7 4 i rV 1 rVyr Early photographers must have been a cautious lot working always in spring summer or fell The Times-Observer old time editor has never seen a photograph of Los Gatos Creek when it roared under all three arches coning within ten feet of the top TERI FLYNN the regretable fact that adults and teenagers too make value judgments based first appearance And whether it be the appearance of the front lawn or of themselves they should feel responsible for keeping that appearance in the generally accepted sense of the word However as for the usual administration argument that dress affects academic behavior it must be admitted they were prdbaMy saying that back in the days when boys had to wear ties and a skirt could not be shorter than three Inches above the ankle but there doesn't seem to have been any substantial decrease in learning since then The major point against dress code opposition though is the basic unimportance of the whole issue At some schools students have even held demonstrations protesting the of dress codes But for what? After all what difference does it make if students have to wear suits or plumed capes just as long as there is no particular hardship placed upon them? Teenagers will claim a matter of principle!" But how much principle can be involved in a few inches of hair or skirt? Especially when there are so many important issues for a truly concerned student to become involved in today Consider the signs of the times: your brother" for understanding hair is a matter of face it in the ideals" category it does leave something to be desired But so what if conforming to a fad really individuality or if a pride involves the appearance of students or if there are much more worthy things to complain about? The main question is it possible that such a thing as a neatly dressed GUBSER agencies are operating major credit programs which affect monetary policy Ten agencies in three departments are managing manpower programs We have had to accommodate 6000 additional employes in the Washington area every year and provide a one million square-foot building for their use 260 federal poverty programs are administered by 16 separate departments over 30 are involved in the training of teachers nine separate programs deal with job recruitment while at least five subsidize on-the-job training projects the 'Encyclopedia of US Government totaling 1010 pages lists 8000 government-aid items Three new Cabinet-level departments have been added since the last Hoover Commission report HEW Transportation and Housing and Urban Development numerous new executive and independent agencies such as NASA Agency for international Development Office of Equal Opportunity the Peace Corps to name only a few have been added seven different federal agencies operating 140 different programs are helping to solve theprob-lems of a single city Oakland Calif The time has clearly come to establish permanent Hoover Commission to constantly evaluate federal activity like the two previous commissions which saved billions of dollars Dozens of Congressmen including mysell have introduced Mils to accomplish ttis Notwithstanding the "new economics' is time that Congress took a discerning look at the question government domination of our national economy reached the point of diminishing This week Oct 6-12 has been designated as National Fire Prevention Week With the onslaught of colder weather and the necessity of heating our homes it is appropriate that this time of year was selected to proclaim the cause of fire prevention Unsafe furnaces and chimneys arc 'he cause of many fires and should be routinely checked each year when the time for their use draws near The time it takes to exercise fire prevention can result in elimination of the threat of a fire that might exact a heavy toll in both human and property damage Every day fires are in the news many of them the result of careless actions or simple lack of On Capitol Hill The lighter side Or DICK west Bv CHARLES Throughout most of our economic Mstory the Nation grew and new jobs were created as working men saved their money and opened businesses of their own The depression of the TMrtles drastically altered ttis simple economic process A was developed which placed emphasis upon increasing consumption and demand by stimulating consumer spending Thus by its spending power government could regulate purchasing power and be the prime factor in job creation Almost four decades late the country is certainly affluent but still there is an unyielding hard core of unemployed which the has failed to reach Before the economics" the government employed five out of every 100 working people either directly or indirectly but in 1965 that figure had jumped to 26 out of 100 Since 1955 the federal budget has douMed and domestic spending has skyrocketed 170 per cent to the point where the federal government is now spending $199 million every hour of every day Former budget director Maurice Stans estimates that there is a strong possibility that government spending wiH again oouMe in the unless major changes take place The national magazine Business gives us further details: last count 150 separate departments agencies bureaus and boards plus over 400 regional and area field offices were piping programs to states cities and individuals through 459 separate channels Eight Cabinet departments and 12 agencies are involved in health Eight departments and four a it WASHINGTON (UPD-A Treasury official said the other day that either the US auto industry or the federal government must take steps to built small cars to compete with foreign imports When I first glanced at this item I though the official was suggesting the government itself start building small cars It turned out however that he had something else in mind Nevertheless it is interesting to speculate to what kind of cars the government might build if the government did build cars Washington Hie Bureaucrat Six the first car ever built by the federal government rolled off the assembly line here today Designed to compete with small foreign imports the Bureaucrat introduces anew concept in engineering by having its motor in the center of the car Harley Wirthit deputy assistant vice undersecretary far production said the decision to place the motor in the middle was made by the committee that put the car together committee agree on whether the motor should be in the front or in the rear so they compromised" Letten to the editor Rage Reason and Reaction Criticizes kill Dear Editor: I was quite discouraged to see the photograph of the boy with Ms dead bobcat in the Wednesday October 2n edition of your newspaper I have always had a good opinlonofyourpaper thinking it fairly liberal and low on gossip so this picture rather shocked me You said nothing about whether the bobcat was killing the boy's cMckens or something like that and we are left to think that he killed it for bounty or for He certainly do it for protection Whatever the reason I think this picture has its place in a sports magazine not in your newspaper and I trust that you will not be publishing more pictures of the dead bodies of vanishing species of wildlife Yours sincerely Barbara Bamford.