Banner Graphic, Volume 14, Number 197, Greencastle, Putnam County, 25 April 1984 — Page 9
opinion LARRY GIBBS ERIC BERNSEE Publisher Managing Editor
Letters to the Editor Response to fluoride questions
To the Editor: Some questions have been raised by Marjorie Birt in her letter to the editor of April 17 about the proposed fluoridation of Greencastle’s water supply. It is important to respond to them and make sense of this important issue. This letter is not a balanced statement presenting the case for fluoridation of the city’s water, but is simply a response to Mrs. Birt’s letter. For a brief and clear presentation of the reasons municipal water supplies should be fluoridated, we would refer you to the excellent article published by the Banner-Graphic on April 11. All the dentists and doctors of the community, without exception, are for such fluoridation. The main points Mrs. Birt makes are: (1) That fluoride in the water is a drug and is there to medicate; (2) fluoride is toxic and dangerous to one’s physical and mental health and, finally, (3) to put fluorides in the city water supply and force everyone to use fluoridated water is a violation of personal freedoms. There are many other points that she makes, but we think the above are the main ones. If these statements are true, no one would possibly want the city water to be fluoridated, including the undersigned. Let’s take them one at a time: (1) Fluoride in the water is a drug and is there to medicate. Answer: In the tiny amount that is present in fluoridated water (1 mg. per quart), no disease is being treated, but dental caries and osteoporosis are being prevented. Fluoride in the right amount is an essential mineral for tooth and bone health; without it teeth are more decayed and bones weaker. In 1969, the National Research Council declared fluoride an essential dietary ingredient and reaffirmed its position in 1980. The World Health Organization also has classified fluoride as one of 14 trace elements which are believed to be essential for animal life. Mrs. Birt said that the Food and Drug Administration stated, “Sodium fluoride used for therapeutic effect would be a drug, not a mineral nutrient.” This statement is, of course, true. If sodium fluoride is given for treatment, it IS a drug and the dose is higher. But used as proposed in the city water supply, it is not for treatment but prevention (of dental caries and osteoporosis, in those who haven’t yet developed the diseases) and the dose is tiny, 1 mg. in one liter (quart) of water. (2) Fluoride is toxic and dangerous to one’s physical and mental health. Answer: Like many common substances essential to life and good health - salt, iron, vitamins A and D, chlorine, oxygen and even water itself - fluoride can be toxic in excessive quantities. High concentrations of fluoride have been used in poisons for insects and rodents, but fluorides in the extremely small amounts as used in drinking water an? neither poisonous nor toxic. Extensive studies of persons living their lives in Bartlett, Texas, where the natural fluoride content of the water is 8 parts per million (ppm) failed to find any evidence of fluoride toxicity. Studies of mortality rates in 18 Canadian communities with 1 ppm fluoride in the water compared with 18 other similar communities with 0.4 ppm or less, showed mortality rates were not influenced by fluoride in the water supply. Practically all water contains fluorides naturally. Greencastle’s water supply has 0.2 ppm. There is no difference in effect between naturally occurring and artifically added fluorides. Mrs. Birt mentions some special
The issue is priorities
To the Editor: Regarding Mr. McHugh’s letter in the April 21 edition: It is sad that Mr. McHugh missed the entire point of my letter. Hopefully, there were not too many more who did. There was no negative reference to South Putnam High School athletes, inferred or specific. I repeat, the issue was and is educational PRIORITIES and where our tax dollars are being spent. I stand firm on my soapbox, Mr. McHugh. No research is necessary; it is blatantly evident that too much emphasis is placed on sports and not enough on
cases of ill effects, stating that Dr. George Walbott of Michigan, an allergy doctor, strictly advised kidney, allergy and diabetic patients never to use fluoridated water. Also, she said that fluorides make old people lose their memory. Regarding allergy, the undersigned know of no patient who is allergic to fluorides as used in city water supplies and this experience is supported by others. The American Academy of Allergy, the safe water committee of the National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization find no evidence of such allergy. Concerning harmful effects to kidney patients, the undersigned know of no such effects and our experience is again supported experimentally. Studies conducted in Stratford, Ontario, a study of heavy overexposure to fluorides in an industrial setting, a review of vital statistics in Illinois and Wisconsin and a large-scale study of mortality figures all showed no ill effects on internal organs or, specifically, the kidneys. As for fluoride being harmful to diabetics, the undersigned know of no such harm and none of the diabetologists we have sent patients to have recommended the avoidance of fluoridated city water. Concerning fluoridated city water causing loss of memory, no such effect is mentioned in Goodman and Gilman, “The Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics,” an authoritative textbook, and the undersigned have not observed this effect. In summary, then, concerning the issue of whether fluoride, as used in city water supplies, is toxic and dangerous to one’s physical and mental health, we cite our own experience, much experimental evidence and quote a statement of the Society of Toxicology in 1968 that, under controlled conditions, 1 ppm of fluoride in the water as recommended by public health authorities is a safe measure. (3) Finally, what about the violation of the individual freedoms of those not wanting to drink fluoridated water? This issue has been dealt with by courts in more than half the states of the United States, including several of the state supreme courts. Without exception, they have found that such fluoridation is not a violation of individual rights either under the First or Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The argument of the courts may be summarized as follows: 1) Tooth decay is an almost universal incurable chronic disease with serious health consequences; 2) The health of the public is an important concern of the state and an appropriate subject for government regulation; 3) The presence of an optimal amount of fluoride in the water has been shown to be effective in preventing much tooth decay and has no ill effects. We wish to add to this the observation that practically all cow’s milk is fortified with vitamins A arid D to prevent ricketts and practically all white flour is fortified with B vitamins to prevent beriberi. Both of these diseases, which were once common, are now almost unheard of. We suspect that very few people feel that such additives are a violation of their freedoms. We have tried to respond objectively to Mrs. Birt’s letter about fluoridation and hope this information will be of use to the general public on this very important issue. F.R. Dettloff, M.D. for the Putnam County Medical Society Perry A. Wainman, DDS for the Putnam County Dental Society
academic achievement. I too was an honor student and a firststring basketball player. I also golf, bowl, swim and am riding my bike in the St. Jude Bike-a-Thon on April 29. I have pledges in excess of S3OO, assuming I finish the “Magic Double Seven” miles. I think physical fitness is great and a must. I am also over half a century old. I’ve been there, sir. I am also pleased to be given this opportunity to dedicate my ride to the “Magnificent Double Seven” honor students. Joan B. Parker rural Coatesville
Soviet-Cuban scenario a possibility Foreigners could decide the U.S. election
By WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY JR. Universal Press Syndicate Question: When, in politics, does “terminal embarrassment” set in? Terminal embarrassment is here defined as what happens when candidate Jones takes just that one fatal step that makes him, suddenly, implausible. The history books tell us it happened to George Romney, the Republican front-runner in 1967, when he said he had been brainwashed in Vietnam. Exit Romney. AND IT HAPPENED to Sen. Edmund Muskie when he wept publicly with indignation outside the offices of Manchester, N.H.’s Union Leader. Said pundit James Reston two weeks ago about the New York primary election: “(It) was not only a disgrace but an insult to the voters, and even worse, an embarrassment to the democratic process.” I repeat the question: Is there a moment when an “embarrassment’’ to “democracy” becomes terminally effective? By which I mean, is the moment when a generation of voters, observing the goings-on of democracy, while declining to bring in a substitute (all substitutes to democracy being despicable for a grownup people), nevertheless despairs, in our heart of hearts, that democracy, in our lifetime, will ever get around to bringing on mature government?
Central America! U.S. role there has Americans 'confused'
By MARTIN TOLCHIN c. 1984 N.Y. Times News Service WASHINGTON Members of Congress returned Tuesday from a 10-day Easter recess with reports that their constituents were confused and concerned about the U.S. role in Central America. Some lawmakers said that their constituents had called them “gutless” for not blocking President Reagan’s actions in the region, while others reported that their constituents had accused Congress of undermining the president’s initiatives. Several used the word “confusion” to describe constituent reaction. “The message from my constituents is clear: do something about Central America,” Rep Bill Richardson, D-N.M., told the House. ‘“Don’t you have any guts?’ they said. ‘How can you permit the president to disregard international law?”’ But Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La., said: “Our folks are concerned about whether or not the president’s policies are going to be supported and whether there’s going to be aid. They’d be opposed to Congress taking action that would undercut the president’s program.” Congressional leaders, meanwhile, planned a House-Senate conference to resolve differences in a spending bill that include disputes over money for military and medical supplies for El Salvador and covert aid for anti-Sandinista Nicaraguan insurgents. The conference will begin next week because many of the House conferees are still abroad, congressional aides said. The Senate version of the bill provides $61.7 million for the Salvadoran government and s2l million for the Nicaraguan insurgents. But House Democratic leaders
They don't teach care for others' feelings
By ROGER SIMON (c) 1984, Los Angeles Times Syndicate It doesn’t pay to get upset over college pranks. Every generation has them. There was swallowing goldfish and then panty raids and then stuffing people into phone booths. What’s to get upset about? Such pranks don’t hurt anybody (except maybe the goldfish) and they serve as valuable clues as to how the privileged classes get their jollies. BUT A NEW KIND of prank has emerged. And you can decide for yourself whether it’s funny. Some weeks ago, two freshmen from Illinois State University in Bloomington, 111., drove the 50 miles to Champaign, 111., to drink a few illegal beers with their friends at the University of Illinois. After having those beers, the two drove over to Mount Hope Cemetery, just south of the campus, next to the football stadium. I remember very clearly that the first advice I ever received at college was about that cemetery. “DON’T EVER TAKE a date in there,” a senior told a bunch of us freshmen. “Because you’ll get booted out of here if you get caught.” Since the likelihood of getting a date seemed remote, I didn’t pay much attention to the advice. But I never went into the cemetery nonetheless. Why on earth would anybody want to? Time, sadly, marches on. The two kids from ISU went into that cemetery a few weeks ago and got into a mausoleum that had been broken into previously. What happened then comes from Lt.
IISiM it lif I
William Buckley
ONE WONDERS what a 30-year-old Englishman might have felt, having long since sworn his allegiance to the crown, about the time Henry VIII reached 50, and everything that surrounded him began to disintegrate, reflecting his own personal disintegration. These somber thoughts gather specific gravity after my criss-crossing the country for a couple of weeks and exchanging talk with journalists and politicians who appear to be united on a single proposition about the Democratic primaries. Namely that although all the Democratic candidates have said indefensible things (e.g. Hart on the Mideast and Central America, Mondale on Central America, Jackson on everything), they have not effectively disqualified themselves. But their stated positions crystallize in the air above us: And those positions may
KEEP YOUR EYES PEEIEP, CHEETA I HEAR THESE JUNGLES ARE CRAWLING WITH CIA AGENTS ,,,
support only $32.5 million for El Salvador and no more money for the Nicaraguan rebels. The administration hoped the Easter recess would provide a cooling-off period that would enhance prospects for its Latin American aid programs, but initial soundings indicated that positions had hardened.
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Roger Simon
Donald Knapp of the ISU police department and is based on his interviews with the two kids. “THEY WERE ALL drunked up,” Knapp said, “and they had to talk each other into going inside because they were scared. “Once inside, there were several bodies to choose from and they chose one.” What the two boys did was reach inside a coffin and rip the arm off a corpse. Then they took it back to ISU, where they stuck it into the middle of the quadrangle. But they didn’t do that right away. "NO, THEY KEPT the arm in their dorm room for several days,” Knapp said. “They were using it to scare people. Then they decided it was getting a little gross, so they stuck it on the quad. ” It was on the quad for more than 12 hours before Knapp went out and picked it up. “It wasn’t just a bone,” he said. “There were remnants of flesh and skin and tendons and ligaments or whatever. It was kind of mummified. It was past the point of smelling.” Numerous snitches told police who had
critically affect the stratagems of our enemies. , I THINK IT reasonably transcribes the opinion of a dozen experienced people I have recently talked with to report that they believe that events, within a week or 10 days of Election Day could affect the outcome of our election. Since these events would be staged by foreigners, not by Americans, my correspondents are saying, really, that foreigners have perhaps found themselves in control of U.S. elections. To be completely specific: National Review’s Washington correspondent John McLaughlin gives one scenario in spades. If we assume that Fidel Castro, like his boss Chernenko, ardently hopes that Reagan will be replaced in November, how best might he bring this about? By a massive autumn offensive against El Salvador, mounted through Nicaragua. What then happens? PRESIDENT REAGAN’S advisers, surveying the military situation, tell him that the crunch has come. Either we intervene directly (yes, including the use of American troops) or El Salvador is vanquished as thoroughly as South Vietnam was vanquished. (San Salvador might be renamed “Che Guevara City.”) Reagan knows that if he makes the ultimate commitment, the Democratic challenger will cry out that, as predicted,
“Support for the covert war against Nicaragua has diminished,” Rep. Jim Wright, D-Texas and the majority leader, told reporters, adding, “Our somewhat clumsy efforts down there have contributed to anti-U.S. feeling and not been very productive.” On the other hand, Wright said, “I don’t see any change in the attitude toward our
put the arm there. And Knapp called the two kids up. Being children of the ’Bos, they called a lawyer and then demanded immunity from criminal prosecution before they would talk to Knapp. THE LEGAL EAGLES from both counties that house the universities got together and decided there was not much to charge the kids with. Desecrating a graveyard is the most minor kind of misdemeanor and walking off with a dead person’s arm doesn’t seem to be covered by the law at all. So the two kids got their immunity and then they confessed. “They were pretty scared,” Knapp said. “They said that at first they thought it was a cool thing to do, but when they sobered up they felt it was gross.” AND HOW DO their parents feel about what they did? I asked. “We are not allowed to call their parents,” Knapp said.
Being children of the ’Bos, they called a lawyer and then demanded immunity from criminal prosecution before they would talk...
I guess university rules must have changed a little over the years, I said. “I hope to shout,” Knapp said with a weary laugh. The two grave robbers will be brought before the ISU judicial board, where the punishment can range from nothing to a reprimand to expulsion. “I don’t know what will happen to
April 25,1984, The Putnam County Banner-Graphic
we have here another Vietnam. Recall that all three of the Democratic challengers have publicly pledged to discontinue resistance within Nicaragua to the government that carries out the orders of Moscow-Havana. We could, then, expect fierce opposition should Reagan elect to intervene. If he decided not to intervene, he might proceed to win the election. But when the smoke settled, El Salvador would be another Soviet enterprise, the third in the general area. Next would be Honduras, and then Guatemala, and in due course Costa Rica. The Soviet Union would hesitate before attempting to move into Panama, concerning which the United States has special feelings. But never mind Panama. Contemplate the Cubanization of Central America THE QUESTION of whether democracy can rise resiliently to cope with such crises can’t be answered without first answer ing the question whether the people who sustain democracy can do the thinking necessary to anticipate such crises. If Fidel Castro can swing an American election by mounting an offensive in Central America at just the right time, why, presidential candidates should candidly discuss that contingency. If they do not, it is left to lesser mortals to do so; whence this contribution.
responsibilities toward El Salvador. ” Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va. and the minority leader, said his constituents felt that “if there’s going to be an involvement in the war down there, it should be directed by tht* Pentagon and not the CIA.” He added, however, that the economy, not Central America, was the prime concern expressed by his constituents.
them,” Knapp said. “Nobody around here has ever experienced anything like this before.” For that, let us be thankful. IF THE TWO do get expelled -- which I doubt - I suppose they will then have to call their parents. I can imagine the call: “Uh, dad, I’m in a little bit of trouble at school,” the kid says. “I pulled this prank, see.” “What did you do? Panty raid?” the father says. “Don’t worry. Boys will be« boys.” “Well, not exactly,” the kid says. “You see, dad, I defiled the dead.” I DON’T WANT TO MAKE too big a deal out of this, though. The two are only 18 and freshmen and apparently have done nothing like it in the past. I would not want to see their lives ruined. But because my job is asking questions, I asked one that I’ll bet the two pranksters never thought of. I called around to find out if there are any living relatives who care about that corpse. And there is one. There is an elderly woman in the Champaign area who cares about that person very much. Nobody much wanted to, but someone]" from the sheriff’s office had to call her up and tell her what had happened. SHE DIDN’T THINK it was a very funny prank She thought it was tragic that such a thing had happened to a loved one. I don’t expect the two little tykes at ISU to understand the horror and shame and sadness this woman feels. Caring about how other people feel is part of growing up. And they don’t teach that at college.
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