anaheim-gazette 1958-01-30

EDITORIALS Boy Scouts Sponsor Traffic Safety Boy Scout Week is one of the five most popular “weeks” observed in America each year. And well it should be. Few organizations have had such a constructive and widespread influence on the youth of the Nation. Since its inception on February 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America have numbered in its ranks no less than 27½ million young Americans and their adult leaders. Right now there are nearly five million boys and adult leaders active in 117,500 Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, and Explorer units. In observing its 48th anniversary in the week from February 7 to 13, the Boy Scouts of America will launch a National Safety Good Turn campaign at the suggestion of President Eisenhower. “In no other land do accidents cause a more terrible loss of human life and limb”, said the chief executive. “We must seek new ways to save the basic resources of our Nation: its people.” During March, April and May, the projects will involve traffic safety. Out door safety projects are scheduled for June, July and August. And home safety will be featured in September, October and November. As the Boy Scouts undertake another great service to the public we commend them on their past achievements and their future good turns. What Price Intellect? (By A. F. COREY, California Teachers Association, Executive Secretary) Recent evidence of Russian scientific competence is in September, October and November. As the Boy Scouts undertake another great service to the public we commend them on their past achievements and their future good turns. What Price Intellect? (By A. F. COREY, California Teachers Association, Executive Secretary) Recent evidence of Russian scientific competence is being used in attempts to prove almost anything which any vested group desires to establish. Critics of American education are loudly maintaining that the failure of our scientists to place a satellite in orbit is proof positive that there is something fundamentally wrong with the public schools. All sorts of comparisons are being made between American and Soviet schools. Many who have been most vicious in their attacks on anything Russian are suddenly holding Communist schools as patterns for us to copy. Actually there is nothing in Russian education to be emulated by us except its sincerity of purpose and its acceptance of primary responsibility as an agency of social and political policy. Recent Soviet scientific successes are not the result of present Russian education any more than lagging missile research in the United States is due to inadequacies in our school system. There is no reason suddenly to conclude that American scientists are inferior to their Russian counterparts. Our failure is a failure in organization and not a failure in scientific competence. It is nothing less than hysteria to conclude that American high schools should teach chemistry, physics and advanced mathematics to all their students. It is probable that with our unselected student population, these areas of study should be restricted to the upper fifty per cent of the group and new approaches to science and mathematics as general subjects be continued and further developed for those of less ability. A respectable percentage of our high school students who are qualified to undertake the study of science and mathematics are doing so, and college entrance examinahigh schools are doing better in these subjects than are the graduates of private secondary schools. We need improved instruction in English just as much as in science and mathetions nationally would indicate that graduates of our public matics. The great need in our schools is for more and better teaching for all children in all subjects. The immediate crisis is not to be minimized. There is no question that our prestige as a world power has been who are qualified to undertake the study of science and mathematics are doing so, and college entrance examinations high schools are doing better in these subjects than are the graduates of private secondary schools. We need improved instruction in English just as much as in science and mathematics nationally would indicate that graduates of our public matics. The great need in our schools is for more and better teaching for all children in all subjects. The immediate crisis is not to be minimized. There is no question that our prestige as a world power has been seriously challenged and our security threatened. This immediate emergency, however, must be met at levels quite outside the public school system. YMCA Service Report While this week is known as National Boy Scout Week it should perhaps be called National Youth Week so that all organizations serving youth could be recognized and honored at the same time. The reason for this thinking is brought to mind by the annual report of the Anaheim YMCA which was given at the annual meeting in Anaheim Tuesday night. A few statements and figures from that report: A total of 489 fathers and sons belong to 30 Indian tribes; 167 elementary school boys belong to 17 Gra-Y clubs; 166 Jr. Hi boys belong to 12 clubs; 216 Jr. Hi girls are in 12 clubs; 72 high school boys in 6 clubs and 470 girls in 24 clubs. The program shows that a total of 3,338 different youths have been served by the Anaheim "Y" this year through 238 different groups. John E. Bertch, general secretary deserves much of the credit for this year's activity but he would be the last to acknowledge it and would be the first to reflect the credit on his workers, his leaders and the community organizations supporting the "Y" work. controlling the financial affairs a company doing a two billion ear annual business is a tough consibility for any board of actors, and so it has proved necessary for your state legislature, such acts as such a board for California state government, the annual budget for which exceeds that amount. The State Constitution has handed the legislators the duty of hold- ing the state's purse strings, and of deciding how the money will be raised and spent. Legally, not a dime can be paid out until an appropriation bill has been enacted. When the budget session convenes in Sacramento next Monday, your representatives will be confronted with an expenditure program of around $2.2 billion, if advance indications may be trusted. The budget document will again be an unwieldy tome of something like 1500 printed pages. Obviously, for the individual legislator to digest this mass of data sufficiently for considered action would be an almost impossible task. That is why your legislators depend on two important committees, Senate finance and Assembly ways and means, to do the burdensome and time consuming job of detailed review of the budget as submitted. But this important task must be well and carefully done to serve your best interests. For many years the Governor, in the finance department and the budget offices of the various administrative agencies, has had expert assistance in preparation of his budget. But not until 1941 did your legislature provide itself with its own expert staff to check the administrative requests for funds in each budget. In that year it established the joint legislative budget committee by rule and gave it authority to hire a legislative auditor (now "legislative analyst") and other qualified staff. The years since have amply demonstrated the value of this staff assistance on budgetary and administrative matters. In 1955 a similar joint committee was established and the office of legislative auditor-general provided for, to give your legislature a means of checking on expenditures actually made, just as a private business has its fiscal affairs checked annually by a CPA. Your legislature is always faced by one almost insurmountable problem in its consideration of the state's general fund at budget time. That arises from the fact that about two-thirds of the general fund requirement based upon "fixed charges" posed by the State Constitution or statute, so there is no way your legislators can do but the money for them by tax. Such things are in this class state support for public service; state share of welfare for blind and children, and state grants to local government units. This hard fact leaves about one-third of the general fund subject to legal control, but even here, the practical limitations on the city of your legislators to "across-the-board" reduction to do too much belt tight but cutting single items. Sizes of the University, the state leges, and the mental and rectorial institutions is in area, and your legislature largely be guided by the needs of persons who must be served such state facilities. As our The Finest ROYAL 76 GASOLINE What's the West's most powerful premium We've put it in the picture simply to remind you that, wherever your pleasure takes you, Royal 76 gasoline can make driving there part of the pleasure, too. It's "The Finest." You get it at the sign of the big 76 where—customers tell us—the Minute Man Service is as good as the gasoline. THE UNION OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA America's Finest Service Stations TUNE IN: THE 76 SPORTS CLUB EVERY WEEK ON ABC-TV • ASK FOR: FREE SPORTS BOOKS AT Y That arises from the hard fact that about two-thirds of general fund requirements are based upon "fixed charges" imposed by the State Constitution statute, so there is nothing our legislators can do but raise the money for them by taxation. Much things are in this class as state support for public schools, state share of welfare for aged, blind and children, and certain state grants to local government units. This hard fact leaves only about one-third of the general fund subject to legislative control, but even here, there are practical limitations on the ability of your legislators to make cross-the-board" reductions, or do too much belt tightening but cutting single items. Support of the University, the state colleges, and the mental and correctional institutions is in this area, and your legislature must largely be guided by the number of persons who must be served by such state facilities. As our population booms, so does their number, and consequently the cost to the taxpayers. Another hard fact facing this coming budget session is that general fund income, for the first time in fifteen years, has fallen behind estimates used for the current budget. Figures recently released show a deficit of more than $11 million for the first six months of this year. This budget session promises to be really interesting! Business Good at Local Post Office The rapid growth of the Anaheim post office is reflected in figures furnished The Gazette this week by Postmaster Marshall N. McFie. Postal receipts show that the local office is doing nearly four times as much business yearly as it was doing in 1952. Total number of employees out of the local office, according to The image is too blurry to accurately transcribe any text. It appears to be a black and white photograph of some industrial activity, possibly related to metalworking or construction, but the details are not clearly visible. premium doing here? r your pleasure e pleasure, too. It's mers UNION FREE SPORTS BOOKS AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD UNION STATION