Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 October 1938 — Page 9
VE
Vagabond
From Indiana = Ernie Pyle
It's No Trouble for a Poor Girl To Get Into Bennington, but a Dull One Wouldn't Have a Chance.
BENNINGTON, Vt., Oct. 4.—Bennington College first came into people's minds about 1925. From then until opening day
in 1932, it ran the whole cycle of educational |
evolution.
| |
TN TR : . : gm
Sd
“Ine Tidianapolis THRE"
Second Section
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1938
Entered as Second-Class Matter Indianapolis,
at Postoffice,
Will U. S. Have Health Insurance?
Originally, it was to be just another girls’ |
school.
But gradually it drew the interest of liberal- |
thinking rich people, and of liberal thinking educa- |
tors.
And by opening day it had become one of the |
most progressive schools in America. |
One odd thing is that school’s character was very largely built by the enthusiastic president of a competing school—one of the countrys most famous— couldn't do unusual things at his college because of tradition. The school was built on a hilltop a few miles north of Bennington. The place had been a farm. In fact, the huge U-shaped dairy barn was retained, and now houses administration offices, library and class rooms. The other buildings are large | two-story white frame houses, in New England style, | stretching down the slope. You don't have to be rich to get into Bennington, | but you do have to be smart. The college has five | applicants for every vacancy. A study of the girl's religious affiliations is inter- | esting. especially in comparison with the NYA project | for relief family boys at Passamaquoddy Village in Maine. It stands like this: Bennington 63 % 247% 3.1% 30.97% No djubt some of you can and will draw all kinds of assumptions, rules and morals from those figures. | But remember that I didn’t create the figures. In fact, IT prefer not even to understand them. Naturally. out of 275 girls, youre bound to get a | iittle of everything. despite careful selection. Certain | girls come here because their parents are social | climbers. Others come because they've heard (er- | roneously) that it’s wild and easy. Others come be- | cause thevre obsessed with the idea of “progressive | education.” Bennington admits it has its lunatic fringe. But on the whole, its students do rank head and shoulders above par in gray matter and their earnestness to |
Iearn. Seven “Majors” Offered
By the end of two years, a girl usually knows | what she wants to do. Then, she is promoted to Senior Division, where mental shopping around stops, | and the girl concentrates on her main interest. The school offers seven “majors’—social studies, | art, literature, drama, science, music and dance. | Their popularity with the students is in the order | named. Since Bennington’s idea is to instill into the student a desire and method for future broad learning. it does not permit too narrow a concentration even in the last two years. i For example, a girl must major in literature as a | whole. rather than just French; in social studies, not | just psychology; in the broad field of art, not just sculpture. Under
Protestant
jer Bennington's system of few classes, a girl | need not be held down to the same intellectual pace | as her classmates. They have already graduated some girls with A. B. degrees in three years and a | half. | One thing T forgot to mention is the winter “work period” which is unique, so far as I know. For | two months in midwinter, the school is closed But the students are out actually working at what thevTre studving. A girl taking drama gets on the New York stage as a lackey of some Kind. A girl taking social studies gets a job, as per one example, as a union secretary among the rubber workers in Akron Last vear a girl got a temporary job on Time | Magazine, and liked it so well she never came back to school. But the girls tell me that most of their jobs are “volunteer,” and they don't get any pay. But | get experience. |
un ticht
they
(Tomeorrow—Four Girls at Lunch.)
My Diary
By Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Makes First Trip Without Knitting; | Stops Here on Way to Louisville.
NDIANAPOLIS. En Route, Monday.—When I was | I in New York City yesterday afternoon. Mr. Walter te came to tell me his impressions of the Virgin | As a member of the commission, he visited siands this past summer and was impressed by i r beauty. I think he is going to write something form the public of the changes which are slowly coming about there. Because these islands are a part | f the United States, we all have an interest in them, | and to find that the people are becoming self-supporting | nd that the natural beauties of the islands are
Wi
More cruise ships will stop there this winter han in anv other season since the United States took ver the islands.
the |
who |
| in { and old-age insurance systems.
{ sory svstem in 1930.
By E.R. R. ASHINGTON, Oct.
4.— Unlike
social insurance
schemes in most foreign countries, the social security system of the United States makes no provision for assisting workers in bearing the economic burdens of sickness. A plan designed to close this gap by creating a national system of health insurance will be laid before the next Congress and in all probability will receive strong support from the Roosevelt Administration. The proposed health insurance scheme, drafted by a committee of Federal officials as a part of a comprehensive national health program, was submitted to the
National Health Conference
held at Washington under
Administration auspices in mid-July.
While the plan was approved by spokesmen for most of the economic groups represented at the conference, including organized labor, agriculture and civic groups, representatives of the American Medical Association indicated that that organization had not relaxed its opposition to governmental
health insurance. The A. M. A. House of Delegates, governing body for about 110,000 member physicians in the nation, meeting In Chicago Sept. 17, voted unanimously against the Government's proposal for a compulsory sickness insurance tax. The delegates asserted that a plan would lend itself to political control and manipulation. They voted in favor of hospital service insurance and declared it was practicable to develop voluntary cash Indemnity insurance plans to cover, in whole or part, the costs of emergency or prolonged illness. At the close of the health conference Josephine Roche, chairman, said the entire program would be submitted to Congress at the next session. She made public a message from Senator Wagner (D. N. Y.), coauthor of the Social Security Act. pledging his support. Senator Wagner regards health insurance as the ‘next step” in social security. ” » »
HE proposed plan contemplates establishment of a health insurance system providing (1) general medical care for the entire population, to be supported through taxation, insurance payments, or a combination of both methods, and (2) insurance against loss of wages during sickness. Wage-loss insurance would be tied with existing unemployment
such
Insurance against the hazards of ill health in foreign countries dates back to the early part of the 19th Century, when. with the rise of industrialism, factory workers began to band together into mutual aid associations and “friendly societies” which could provide group protection against
i sickness risks. In most of the lar-
ger industrial countries, insurance of this type has since been superseded in large part by compulsory insurance systems under government control. but voluntary insurance is still the exclusive system in use in 13 countries. Germany, in 1883, was the first country to make health insurance compulsory for industrial workers. By 1914. Great Britain. Russia, and a number of smaller countries had adopted compulsory systems, and similar schemes were established in many other countries after the war. France, the only major European country to retain a voluntary system during the postwar years, adopted a compulAt present, compulsory health insurance is in force in 24 countries. Compulsery insurance is confined to the emploved population in nearly all countries. Insurance
SO THEY SAY—
It is not the svstem that creates
kL 8 - AR hid » { sj » . 5s I was glad to hear that the craftwork, which was |. 4itions. but the wav the individ-
beginning when I was there, has made great strides. Mv son. James, when he was there last winier. admired a mahogany tray made in the shape o 3 tania leaf and asked them to make one for me Thev entrusted Mr. White to bring it back, and it certainly is a thing of grace and beauty. They also sent the President a mahogany cigaret box with his initials inlaid in a lighter wood, and this also shows excellent workmanship. : : People on cruises are always looking for souvenirs to bring home and frequently find nothing original or indigenous to the place in which they travel, I think many travelers will be glad to shop at St Thomas, if attractive articles which have a reminiscent flavor of the island are created there.
Mail Keeps Her Up Late
Mv brother and some friends went with us to dine at a little French restaurant far over in W. 29th St, and we boarded the train at 8:35. We meant to g0 to bed at once in spite of the early hour, but I had brought a considerable amount of mail which I had not been able to finish in the afternoon. it and the urge to finish was too strong, so
just
it was well
|
{ i {
{ i
{
I started on |
after midnight before the porter was allowed to make
up our beds.
Never before have I been on a trip without my |
knitting! I forgot it and to discipline myself and not one occupation. After all, hands busy, just as women knit. that using my eyes all th iri an turning : Be os not to be so forgetful again. We arrive in Louisville, Ky, about 5 p. m.
Bob Burns Says—
oo Tos Angeles is LLYWOOD, Oct. 4 P . OL tenin: up after playin’ host to the Amer
ican Legion, and 1 doubt if youll be 2a JEL Ue on oo art great things Me ee Telie says, “The public is fickle and apt to forget that the boys went to France, but we'll never forget that they came fo Los Angeles. One old lady at a bunch of Le street, singin’, blowin’ h
and she turned to an © a hE a vou stop those men?” and the officer says, No, ladv—
an old man tried to stop those boys 20 years ago and
3 : in’ Ww in Holland!” he’s still sawin WOO a at oh
here at all.
-
decided it was a good thing | }¥F¥ become dependent on any | | men smoke to keep their | I find, however, | e time in reading is rather | to knitting now and then
busy |
uals use the svstem.—Prof. Harry D. Gideonse oi Columbia University.
I hope half “the people who will hear the music will like it. Then I
will think I have succeeded.—Wil-| a work | which will be played at the World's |
liam Still, composer, on
Fair.
—g)
| the cost of government. That it
usually covers all manual wageearners regardless of income, but a maximum income limit is often set for salaried workers. In most countries, insurance is financed through contributions from the insured, the employers and the Government. Virtually all systems provide cash allowances and medical services for their members. The rate of cash benefits is usually fixed at from one-half to two-thirds of wages, and the maximum period during which such benefits are pavable is generally 26 weeks. In many countries, sick persons who exhaust their rights to benefits through prolonged disability are transferred to invalidity pension funds. ~ » ”
EDICAL treatment ordinarily is provided for from 16 to 52 weeks. All foreign systems bear the cost of minor operations, but only a few cover the entire cost of major operations. Hospital treatment is provided in a number of countries, and a few systems include simple dental treatment.
The U. S. S. R. is the only country which has established a svstem of “socialized medicine” —free medical service at the expense of the Government—on a large scale. Theoretically, medical services, cash allowances, and other benefits are paid for by contributions from employers, but since there is virtually no private enterprise in the Soviet Union such contributions are in fact made by the Government. The Chicago resolution, adopted unanimecusly by the A. M. A. House of Delegates, read in part:
“We approve the principle of hospital service insurance which is being widely adopted throughout the country. We particularly recommend itl as a community project. Experience in the operation of hospital service insurance or group hospitalization plans has demonstrated that these plans should confine themselves to provision of hospital facilities and should not include any type of medical care.
“We recognize that health needs and means to supply such needs vary throughcut the United States. Health needs usually depend on local conditions and therefore are primarily local problems. We therefore encourage country or district medical societies, with the approval of their state medical societies, to develop appropriate means to meet their local requirements. x 2 ” “YN addition to insurance for hospitalization we believe it is practicable to develop cash indemnity insurance plans to cover the costs of emergency or prolonged illness. Agencies set up to provide such insurance should comply with State statutes and regulations to insure their soundness and financial responsibility, and should have approval of county and State medical societies. “We are not willing to foster any system of compulsory health insurance. We are convinced that it is a complicated, bureaucratic system which has no place in a democratic state. It would undoubtedly set up a far reaching tax system with great increase in
would lend itself to political con-
| trol and manipulation there is no
doubt. “We recognize the soundness of
| the principles of workmen's com-
pensation laws and recommend the expansion of such legislation to provide for meeting the costs of illness sustained as a result of employment in industry.” In urging full use of existing hospital facilities rather than
oa
In most European countries, scenes such as pictured above hold no economic With the notable exall European nations which operate sickness insurance systems pay the
terrors for insured workers. ception of Great Britain,
operating room
time of illness.
Sr
One type of service performed for members of the Group Health
Association is illustrated in this picture, Wells testing the eves of Miss Catherine Ryan.
showing Dr. Edmunt D. Members are entitled
to complete medical care, three weeks of hospitalization and periodic
examination.
5
RELIEF
NON-RELIEF Under $1000
1000 -2,000 2,000-3000
3000 X Over
ANNUAL DAYS OF DISABILITY* PER PERSON
10 15
| |
20
*From llinesses Disabling For One Week or Longer
Every year 70 million sick persons lose more than a billion days from work in the U. S. Medical bills, plus loss of work, cost the nation
10 billion dollars per year.
The chart illustrates one contention of
those who sponsor a national health program, namely: That by far the greatest amount of illness occurs among low-income families who are least able to pay for medical care.
building additional ones, the delegates reported: “The stability and efficiency of many existing church and voluntary hospitals could be assured by payment to them of the costs of the necessary hospitalization of the medically indigent.” § # #4 ONCERNING appropriation of funds for the indigent, the delegates said: “Since the indigent now constitute a large group in the population, we recognize that the necessity for State aid for medical care may arise in poorer communities and the Federal Government may need to provide
in another three or four years, I| ble to look at the town and tell | Personally I think |
out here was very much annoyed | gionnaires who were marchin’ up the | orns and shootin’ firecrackers | flicer and said, “Officer, can't |
funds when the State is unable to meet these emergencies. “In the face of the vanishing support of philanthropy, the medical profession will welcome the appropriation of funds to provide care for the needy, providing first, that the public welfare administrative procedures are simplified and co-ordinated and second, that the provision of medical services is arranged by responsible local public officials in co-operation with the local medical profession and its allied groups. “We feel that system should be
in each State a developed to
Wortman
Everyday Movies—By
anST. oness,
Plan Designed to Close Social Security Gap Still Opposed by Doctors
cost of operations and confinement care in addition to general medical service, provide general hospitalization, drugs, preventorium and sanatorium service, and cash benefits during
Most of the systems also
Expert diagnosis is one service performed for members of the Group Health Association in Washington. Here a doctor is making an X-Ray photo.
F
RE
Storm center of controversy surrounding the Group Health Association is Dr. Mario Scandiffio, who was expelled from the District of Columbia Medical Society, affiliate of the American Medical Association.
meet the recommendation of the national health conference in conformity with its suggestion that: ‘The role of the Federal Government should be principally that of giving financial and technical aid to the States in their development of sound programs through procedures largely of their own choice.’ ”
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
1—Is Galveston, Tex., island or a peninsula? 2—What do the initials C. I. O. stand for? 3—What is an alloy? 4—Which country lies east of Burma? 5—How many stories high is the R.C.A. Building in New York City? 6—In which war was the Battle of Mobile Bay? n ”n E-
Answers
1—It is on an island, which is connected with the mainland by a causeway of earth and concrete, two miles long.
2—Committee for Industrial Organization. 3—A mixture of two or more metals, 4 Siam. 5—Seventy. 6—American Civil War. ” o n
ASK THE TIMES
Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any question of fact or information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13th St., N. W., Washington, D. C. Legal and medical advice cannot be given nor can extended research be under-
on an
We
| doing the right thing for your children.
PAGE 9
Ind.
Our Town
By Anton Scherrer
The Paris-London Flight Is Made In a Plane Mr. Chamberlain Used, Or So an Airlines Official Says. VACATION NOTES: LONDON
ONDON—TI'Il bust if I don’t tell you about my trip from Paris to London. Believe it or not, I made the trip in the same airplane that carried Mr. Chamberlain from No. 10 Downing St. to Mr. Hitler in Berch-
tesgaden. Honest.
For all I know Mr. Chamberlain may have sat in the same seat I occupied. If he didn’t, he sat in one of the nine other seats with which the plane is equipped. To tell the truth, I hardly believe the Prime Minister occupied my seat (or if he did, he changed it for a better one before the trip was over), because the way things turned out, I had the worst seat in the whole outfit—right over the wings where the roar of the motors was the worst. My traveling companion (known in private life as my wife) insists her seat was even worse than mine, and maybe it was because circumstances compelled her to sit across the aisle from me. I didn't know I was going to ride in Mr. Chamberlain’s chariot when I bought our tickets (704 French francs apiece, if you please) and neither did anybody else, not even the officials of British Airways. When Mr. Chamberlain's airplane turned up, the officials looked as surprised as I did, and so far forgot themselves that they expressed their surprise. From which I gather that, maybe, Englishmen are human beings after all. Here's how the whole thing happened. We started the trip right in the heart of Paris, at the office of British Airways, where they weighed our baggage and
Mr. Scherrer
| collected the excess freight (a nickel for every pound | over 33). | (just like they do prize fighters), to make sure that the
While they were at it, they weighed us, too
plane could keep up its cruising power of 175 miles an hour with the extra poundage we collected in Europe. Then, by way of a big automobile, we went out Lafayette Road to Le Bourget, the biggest flying field I ever saw. Why, I believe it's even bigger than the Indiana State Fair Grounds. ,
Eats Were on the House
When we got there a dapper uniformed official turned up and said it hurt him like everything to have to report a delay of 30 minutes to fix the plane. Then he did something awful nice— something I'd like to see America adopt. He es= corted us to the restaurant at Le Bourget and invited us to order anything we wanted. On the house, of course. Technically we could have eaten him out of house and home, but we were very decent about it and contented ourselves with tea and toast. We were right in the midst of our tea and toast when the smooth-looking British official showed up again and said they had changed their minds about fixing up the plane we were to take. To take its place, they had rushed in a bigger and better plare, and it was right then and there as I stepped into the caboose that the dapper British official turned to me and said: “So sorry, Sir, this should have happened, but if it hadn't happened, you wouldn't have had the honor to ride in the plane that carried Mr. Chamberlain to Berchtesgaden.” And to this day I don't know whether the smooth-looking British official was spoofing me or not.
Jane Jordan
Another Suggestion for the Mother Of the Child Who Dislikes School.
EAR JANE JORDAN—Perhaps I can give a help= ful suggestion to the mother whose little girl dis likes school. A neighbor of mine had an identical experience with her oldest child and came to me for advice. The little girl was fond of flowers; so that evening I drew her attention to my marigolds and zinnias and asked her if she would like to take some to her teacher. She was delighted and next morning set out with her bouquet with never a sign of grief. In the meantime I telephoned her teacher so that Betty's flowers were greeted with more than the usual enthusiasm, given a place of honor and brought into the program more than once that day. Betty felt important and realized, unconsciously of
© | course, that home and school were not antagonistic
but closely and pleasantly connected. Gradually the mother was able to make school more attractive. She made candy “for teacher” and visited the school frequently, and the teacher made it her business to become acquainted with Betty's home life, with the baby sister, the dolls and even the dog. This is all in line with the advice you gave the mother but I thought an actual experience might encourage her. I must take this occasion to thank you for your help in my home. I had no real problems in guiding my teen-age daughter but you know there is always a certain amount of anxiety about whether you are My ideas regarding the handling of adolescents coincided with
| yours in every way, but advice that may sound old- { fashioned and a little tiresome from parents is often
accepted willingly from another sources. I found that my daughter often read your column and after that I watched it closely and when there was something that I felt was good for her to have emphasized, I saw to it that The Times was lying in a convenient place opened at vour page. In that way you got many a fact across to her and saved me the trouble! MRS. B. W. ”n n o
Answer—I wish to thank you for your helpful sug= gestion. Of course a gift of flowers made the little girl feel pleasantly important. In general we tend to love those who accept our favors graciously. The teacher's interest encouraged the little girl to make a new emotional tie, her first real transfer of affection to someone outside the home. It was signficant to me that the little girl you know left a little sister at home which she may have fancied took her place with the mother. Most parents expect their children to love the new babies, and they overlook the problem of jealousy which exists to some extent in almost every case. There are several ways to alleviate jealousy between brothers and sisters. I heard of one mother who had the new baby bring a gift to the other children. Thank you for your friendly words about the column. JANE JORDAN.
Put your problems in a letter to Jane Jordan, who will answer your questions in this column daily. i
New Books Today
Public Library Presents—
MEMBER of an ancient royal family in Ba= varia, Prince Hubertus zu Loewenstein, a child during the war years, saw all that life had been to his aristocratic people. In his CONQUEST OF THE PAST (Houghton) he describes his early life, the war as it impressed a sheltered child of the upper classes, the breakdown of the German Empire, and the founding of the Republic. Once con= vinced that the latter was better for his country, he became its champion. The last chapters, taken from his diary written during the stirring, tragic years when Hitlerism was growing in the state, tell of the apathy of the gov=ernment, the cruelty of the Nazis, and the final exiles of himself, the “democratic” prince. Here is an understandable and readable account of how the seemingly impossible came to pass in Germany. Those interested in the deeper rocts of events will find in this book much to ponder,
