Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 7 August 1949 — Page 21
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Section Three | °
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—Ruee ht pulling the “Witherin
“In There Fighting— — — =
Vigilant Muncie Applies
Yankee Ingenuity to
All-Out War on Polio
Laughter of Children Rare,
But Courage Belongs fo Everyone
“Hy GEORGE RYDER, Times Stat Writer
MUNCIE, “Aug. 6— Yankee ingenuity is slugging it
out with polio in Muncie.
A hunch, know-how and a vigilant 50,000 shoulders to the wheel are holding back death in the Delaware County seat, where you seldom hear the Taughter of children in the streets these days.
And ‘the leaders in this battle of the home-made
“Tung and the sient kitter—
and crippler?
© A small, starched woman in white whose many, many years in Indiana haven't diluted her Connecticut accent . A maker of whistling tea kettles who was grateful for some kind words at Christmas’. A grinning, soft-spoken social science t#acher who res called a man who could save lives with a packing crate and a vacuum sweeper . . .
all, slender, slow-spoken
ig man with a pipe, “who wishes it -
were all over so he could get back to a “quiet practice of medicine” . . . . » » THE BATTLE began when the diaphragm muscles of Rue
+ Steele, the 8-year-old son of a
Muncie bus driver, began to
_ stiffen. His father, Rufus, kept
the boy wheezing by artificial respiration. The fire department took up the job, keeping a man: by 8 bed 24 hours a day, push-
muscles, Then,, out at Ball State Teachers College, Proctor W,
Maynard happened to think of 1940 . . . Marquette, Mich. . . . a man named M. K. Reynolds « . . an iron lung made from a packing case and a sweeper The social -science teacher mentioned them to Nellie G. Brown, diminutive, crisp, superintendent of Ball State Memorial Hospital, Delawrre County’s battleground with polio. She recalled something, . too. to thumb through her back copies of Hygeia. In 4 Int 1940 edition was an article about the Reynolds lung, She picked up her phone and called Excel Manufacturing Co. An office girl put Jack Reichart on the phone. “Come out here. Got something I want you to do for me,” Miss Brown said. Mr. Reichart went. Went because he could remember the Christmas of 1944 when he lay in bed recovering from an op:
n + [ ity
By IRVING LEIBOWITZ T™WO VISITORS to City Hall, attracted. by lights’ and the sounds of high policy being made up. on asked Custodian Earl mons!
“Who are those people up.
there?” “Those people” are the members of the Co on Council of Indianapolis, | elécted by ‘the voters each four years to pilot the Crossroads of America “through the stormy: seas’ of neighborliood arguments, zon-
the -fourth floor, = Clem-
“eration. Christmas isn't gay in a hospital, unless. a busy
-woman-takes time. to. talk with. ms
you, A little conversation builds a lot of morale. Jack went out to the hospital. Miss Brown told him what she wanted. He demurred. Could not possibly do it. He made tea kettles. What'd he know about respirators. Never laid eyes on one before. minimal _ THEN he began to read, began to wonder, began to sketch, began to call on manufacturers he knew and agked his men- if they'd mind wi ng overtime,
all-night if- Phirinon]
After a hectic day and night Te
of feverish work and no rest, Rue Steele lay in a couple of welded alcohol drums with a vacuum sweeper pumping his lungs. A freight train held up Jack's truck half an hour at a crossing, while the hospital sweated out a crisis, but Rue's life had been prolonged until death came to the lad Thursday. The boy's battle with polio had been half lost before the homemade respirator was eady, fighters had tried . .. and they hoped other polio victims would be saved. “The first one was Seal. but every time we've made another we've found out something new. Bach one's a little better,” Jack said.
Tuesday night, for the first time in several ‘nights, Jack's men locked up their tools and went homie. Miss Brown had four lungs and fifth was nearly ready. They, too, could take a deep breath. The fifth one was in Jack's ‘back shop. Two welded, sil-ver-plated drums lay on a special carriage made and donated by a bed manufacturer. A power driven motor pushed a bellows given by an organ maker. Special sponge rubber moulded and flown-—with no bill attached —to Muncie by a Lafayette firm, kept the lung air tight. 2 “If T've learned ome thing, it’s to follow a hunch, And not to Pe afraid to ask for help. If
[elsloh" n actor
ing troubles, parking regulations and, currently, the 1950 city budget. - aw ; . Fixing the budget is the pringipal job of Council during the year, although this year
the Council is faced with the"
4ssue of public housing which
promises +10 raise the tempes}.:
on the fourth ficor of City Hall r . »
» UNCILMEN are. usually
the mobt, criticized of all local.
officials, snd generally the most
‘innocent, since a deal that any .
one of them wants to promote 3 ok fa,
"But at Teast thE pony
" this,
you've faith, people will pitch in," Miss Brown said.
wants to get back to the t-- practice -of- medicine”. He's Dr. John W. Funk, Muncie's health officer. He it wgs who more than a week ago began to insist that a state of emergency existed. It's ‘his signature scrawled on the order that closed down Muncle’s public life—to save life. “It was obvious. something had to be done. But why publicize me? I'm a doctor. You know how we doctors are about publicity. Don't like it.
practice of medicine
“If there's a story here, it's the story of the people of Mun-
cle. It's wonderful to see how |
they have gone to work to whip
this thing. They've co-operated | far more than I expected,” he
said: And they have, Theaters are dark, silent, |
Tavern registers ring up only take-away. package sales. You can't sit and sip a glass of beer in a Muncie tavern. “You can't linger over a res" taurant meal. A waiter will remind you that other. people want .to eat. One restaurant offered to send out meals, just to keep down the crowds. Churches are closed, but ministers will be on duty in Ball Memorial corridors to soothe frantic parents, Ball State
teachers are breaking up their | of five |
classes into handfuls and six students at a time,
“Far as I'm concerned, that's !
students more attention that way,” Mr. Raynard said. If there a bleak note in all it is. the fact"that Delaware County's chapter of the infantile paralysis foundation is stone-broke. Treasurer Ray Shonfeld, a downtown clothier, says the
chapter has cashed the last of |
its Series F government bonds. And money from them will meet only bills due two or three weeks ago. “We'll and $10,000 help from the national,” Ray says. not worried.” We know the .money will come, as soon as
we figufe out just how much
we'll need.” ‘But if Ray isn't too worried, neither is Miss Brown, neither is Jack Reichart. - “We're holding our own,” says ‘Miss Brown. “We know how to make ‘em now,” says Jack. Muncie is holding its own.
Holliste
can easily be blocked by the other eight. The council is as
“*good an example of democracy
at work as one might find. The basis of electing members provides for a distribution of councilmen by political party matching the = political trend. With the election of Mayor Feeney, a Democrat, the six-mem-ber majority of councilmen elected was Democrats. three are Republicans and form the loyal opposition. Function of the minofity traatienn)y bere > to challeng®
phbampeimlbesipsmlge
need between $5000 |
“But we're |
and Pl
The |
SUNDAY, “AUGUST Ti
iF An Atomic Bomb Burst C Over C
Awful pie Painted in AEC Report 1 AN atomic bomb burst over the center of Indianapolis nearly everyone within the “mile square” would die, unless protected
by earth, steel or thick ~+-concrete:
Cremrorced concrete “or steel would suffer structural dam-
destruction, The Gaimagitiable heat gen- { erated by the bomb would start fires in the wreckage. Damage would be severe out to a distance of two miles from. a point directly tinder the burst of the bomb, but it would les- | sen with each yard of distance. + In intermediate zones, those
bris or heat, would, unless protected, suffer radiation sickness of varying degrees. This is the awful picture of | the effect of an atomic explosion in the air as. painted by the United States Atomic En- | ergy Commission on the Aug. | 8 anniversary of the bombing i-of Hiroshima. | Other government have reported on the effects of | atomic explosions. and individual writers have dealt with the subject. But this is AEC's first detailed analysis of the ef-
‘ofi people and Property. » THE COMMISSION® S report emphasizes the Jekyli-Hyde character of the mysterious new force our scientists perfected in war. .A considerable part of the repoft deals with benefits from atomic energy. Here, in the words of the AEC. report, is the story of what would happen to “people and property in a city attacked | by an atomic bomb:
- —
bomb. VAL. With.-the. " explosion, but there are three basic types of injury produced: "{a) mechanical, from the blast effects; (b) thermai, from the radiant heat of the burst and from the, fires burning in the | wreckage; and (c¢) radiation, from the radioactivity released | by the burst.
“" AT HIROSHIMA and Nagasaki, a majority of the | deaths and injuries resulted
from blast effects due to the collapse of buildings and to falling debris. However, had there i been protection from blast and fire;
{ effects alone.
| understandable way-of describing the effects of atomic explosions is to use zones bounded by ' concentric circlés whose center is: directly below the point of expiosion. ' The effects in these zones depend somewhat on local factors, and change gradually rather than abruptly. “Within . a haif-mile of a
4 yron HPT sion Presid the majority in any public enterprise involving expenditure of public funds. In the current council, this has been less no-
ticeahle than in former years.
Buteit' will operate during these
August days as the GOP minority attacks the budget, ds a check ‘and balance to Democratic power: in City Hall. en »
COUNCIL. sessions as A rule are attended by few taxpayers, even during budget time’ whén avery householders interest is “St stake. One reason is the cus-
Well constructed bulldings of i
age up to 70 per cent of ‘total
Fast Wish Tt Wers-over,—so-1-+-Dot Killed by blast, falling de-
could get back to my quiet |
agencies
fects of an A-bomb explosion Cl il
“The effects of an atomic snethod.of
. within this
nearly as many people | would have died from radiation ~
Perhaps “the “most readily’
; Features ..o..vifivenes. 28 Amusements ........ ‘8, 29
She bhauhiid bo
This drawing by Times Artist J. Hugh O'Donnell should hel if an atom bomb were dropped over Monument Circle. Nearly
within the mile square.
FIRE DAMAGE - IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
you visualize what would happen total lonizing radiation injuries and death from burns, blasts and falling debris
devastation would result
would result in the next belt up to one mile. Fire damage would be extensive.to. residential areas all the way to Washington High School on thé west, 23d St. on the north, Woodruff Place on the east, and Raymond St. on the south.
point directly under a bomb ex-
plosion—-the point called ground
Of. ZoEO--When. the. atomic. bomb is. similar to those used against
Japan and detonated at a height up-to several-hu the. air, the fotlowing will oc cur: “The blast pressure by the bomb explosion will demolish all structures not of reinforced concrete or steel construction area, Well constructed buildings of the latter type will suffer structural damage up to 70 per cent of total destruction with severe dam-
age to windows, partitions, walls and contents. ws r= = PERSONS NOT sufficiently
protected by shelter able to withstand the blast would undoubtédiy be killed by falling buildings or flying wreckage. “Intense thermal energy generated by the explosion would cause fatal, burns to unprotected persoris and would start fires in the wreckage. Protection. against flash burns is. relatively - easy since _- either
ndredfeet—in—
“clothing or a special ointment will avoid the worst injuries, Lhe bomb also releases an enormous store of energy as invisible radioactive’ waves or particles’ which are highly destructive to Hving tissue. The various particles and rays differ in their - ability to penetrate objects, such as lead or concrete, and in their ability to
penetrate the body. From the
standpoifit of kind of effect they have, they are similar. “Because of the concentration of such radiation within a half-mile of ground zero, nearly everyone not protected
by earth; steel or thick con-.
crete succumbs within a few hours to four or five days after exposure. ‘ ~ . =» “A SECOND group would develop susceptibility to infection due to: destruction of their white blood cells and would die from four days to six weeks after exposure, Another group would incur multiple hemorrhages and .die withing
yocretary
Kammine bY
SETS mit fom of councilmen to conduct their real business in the privacy of the cloakroom. Business done hefore the public gaze
is formilized, since decisions and ' compromises have heen made in the back room. .Council: members are the most. peerly paid of all city employees. Their salary of
£1200 a year is less than the wage for a janitor, They used to get $600 on.the theory their job was ly part “time. Although most members are engaged in private businesses, all
ir
Works Board Secretary ty Board Pr
sident Leroy of them devote a good many hours a week to the city's business, and their home telephones are seldom silent, . . ” . THE MEMBERS represent a cross section of occupations. Council President Christian J. Emhardt is a lawyer. Joseph Bright works for the "Advance Independent Electrotype Co, and Guy U. Ross is ‘a re= tired New. York Central Railroad conductor, !
« Don Jameson is a real estate !
man. Joseph Wallace is an at-
Of -alk-alomic....
“two. to three weeksifrom
cause, Other observed effects of “radiation on human OTgARISM. tuclude: “ONE. Surviving women show no present evidence of alteration in reproductivity, Even a dose of radiation ordinarily fatal does not produce sterility in females. “TWO: Males within a mile of ground zero showed evidence of - diminished . reproductivity
for a period of three months, .
because the reproductive glands are more exposed than in women. The sterilizing dose of radiation in male is very near the fatal dose. “THREE: Hair loss began two weeks after the explosion and was largely to the scalp hair. The survivors. shown regrowth of hair. £ - - ~ “STRUCTURAL damage due to blast and fire would be general in the area outside the half-mile circle and up to one mile from ground zero. Resi-
dential buildings would be al-
“have suffered from.
have
Towible Heal
shock resistant o—— would be immune to any appreciable
““Casualties from attendant types of injury—flame burns, blast effects and injuries due to falling . debris and flying glass ~woud tongsquentiy pe prominent, “Second and’ “third degree
“extent,
by people not protected. : Injury from fonizing radia~ tion also would be serious, but as tha distance from the explo== sion increases, shielding 1s more effective in lessening of damage from the rays. .
"” » » “BEYOND a mile, blast damage would still be extensive to residential structures. Fire damage would be extensive in
inflammable areas. Flash burns. can be expected at this dis-
tance. Secondary injuries remain fairly prominent, in the absence of protection by nat. ural or artificial barriers. In the case of Nagasaki, steep hills “sharply mited the effects of blast and fir “Radiation ow be: expected
Ao. be very prominent among
causes of Injury up to approximately one-and-a-quarter miles from ground zero. After that
_distance, such cases drop off
sharply.
“At Hiroshima the average soit of getreral dam
structural’ age was roughly two miles from ground zero.‘ The limits of firs damage would roughly coincide with this boundary, except where wind causes wider effects “Flash burns will not be se severe in this area. ” ~ ” “THE NUMBER of cases of
«radiation -stelness would dew.
crease markedly in this area” although some of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were reported to 6 YAVS even at this distance. “Structural damage due to sblast and fire is appreciably 2d beyond two Miles Trom™ ground zero and secondary ine juries correspondingly decrease. At the Alamogordo, N. M, test, the bomb was exploded fairly close to the ground and a crater was produced.
® - ” THE BOMB bursts in Japan were at “much higher altie tudes” and there were ne craters formed. Radioactive elements from such a burst are carried by the mushroom cloud up to strato. spheric levels. “An underwater explosion” the report says, “does create widespread damage from blast effects and heat because of the muffling effects of the water. But in contrast to a high air ‘explosion, residual radioactivity - 1s of considerable concern. ”e
Mueller
Keach and Police
torney. Charles Ehlers is secretary of the Indiana Bakers Association. Miss Mary Connor. keeps house. J. Porter Seidensticker is a tax consult. ant. - These are the citizens who in the next few weeks will determine the . biggest portion of local taxes Indianapolis property owners wil pay next. year,
“Messrs. Bright, Ehlers and
Jameson who constitute. the OP, ‘minority -- will strike out for economy. The Demotrats will attempt to see Mayor ’ eR po J
n
Chief Edward Rouls (left to ri
A A HA A vo ns : 3 »
Works Board President Martin McDermott
ht
Feeney gets the money he wants to operate services. * at j ‘PROFESSIONAL tax cone sultants will watch both groups.
The segment of the popula- -
tion which: will” not be represented in budget hearings will be the little guy who pays for it all—the humble Proparty owner,
For reasons coungilmen BeveE
have understood, Wem ev when his tax future is at stake invariably stays home ,,.and
complains
Would Start Fire AE
“TIeSh "BUFnS "Would be strrersa
=