The Braille Forum Vol. IX July 1970 No. 1 Published Bi-Monthly by the American Council of the Blind Oklahoma City, Oklahoma * Editor: Alma Murphey 4103 Castleman Ave. St. Louis, MO 63110 * Associate Editors: George Card 605 South Few St. Madison, WI 53703 Earl Scharry 5714 Ridgway Ave. Rockville, MD 20851 * President: Reese Robrahn 329 Woodbury Lane Topeka, KS 66606 * National Representative: Durward K. McDaniel 20 E Street NW Suite 215 Washington, DC 20001 To inform its readers and to provide an impartial Forum for discussion. ***** ** Table of Contents Notice to Subscribers A Week to Remember ACB Shuttle Service Between Airport and Hotel, by Ed Bradley Announcement of the 1970 VIDPI Conference Vendors to Honor Senator Randolph at Convention Social Security and Welfare Amendments Special Employment in Public Agencies Freedom of Choice for Medicaid Patients S. 3644 -- Free or Reduced Air Fare for Blind Persons and Guides Fair Hearings for Welfare Recipients Speaker Condemns Full Pension Plan, by James Johnson W.C.W.B. Resolutions Concluded National Blind Bowling Tournament News, by Oral O. Miller Treasurer's Report -- June 3, 1970 Blind Vocalist Is Inspiring Example Be Sure You Know Your Real Borrowing Costs Letters to the Editors Here and There, by George Card ACB Officers Directors ***** ** Notice to Subscribers The Braille Forum is available in braille, large type, and on tape -- seven-inch, dual track, ips 3-3/4. Subscriptions and address changes should be sent to Floyd Qualls, who is in charge of our three mailing lists. His address is: Mr. Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Items intended for publication should be sent to the editor or to one of the associate editors. Those much-needed and appreciated cash contributions may be sent to ACB Treasurer Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301. ***** ** A Week to Remember July 13-18: The annual convention of the American Council of the Blind and allied organizations of the blind with specific interests. Will you remember this week because you were in Oklahoma City at the Skirvin Hotel, or will you remember it because you did not attend? The Oklahoma Federation of the Blind, and Oklahoma, invite you to remember it because of your participating in an informative and constructive program; because of the old friends you will greet and the new ones you will make; because you will be helping to open doors for yourself and your fellow blind. Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America have planned an excellent program for July 13, 14 and the morning of the 15th. Senator Jennings Randolph will address the group at a luncheon on Tuesday. Senator Randolph is a member of the Senate Sub-committee considering the Vending Stand amendments. He will certainly have much of interest to say to vendors. Another highlight is a panel of state administrators of vending stand programs fielding questions from operators. It should prove a most interesting session. A feature for Monday afternoon, is an exchange of information on state programs between operators. One person from each state represented will be asked to describe his state program and other operators will question and offer constructive suggestions. If you operate a vending stand, this R.S.V.A. Convention is a MUST for you. Throughout the country, blind and partially sighted people will be invited to the convention by Miss Wanda Jackson, internationally known Country and Western singing star. She has made approximately one hundred seventy-five taped announcements, which have been distributed to radio stations in all parts of the Country. On Tuesday evening, July 14th, Miss Jackson will stage a "fun" show for all persons attending the convention. She has taken time from her extremely busy schedule to do this show, so plan to be here. The second annual conference of the American Blind Lawyers Association is slated for Tuesday, July 14th. This group met and organized last year in Charlotte, North Carolina. Law students, practicing attorneys, and all others identified with the legal profession are invited to attend and participate in this organization of professional men and women. If you wish to send a message back home, or communicate with friends in Timbuktu, take the elevator to the Venetian Room on the 14th floor of the Hotel. There, Travis Harris, Director of Oklahoma's Division of Visual Services and a key member of the ACB Service Net, will have a (ham rig) set up. All meetings of Ham Operators will be in the Venetian Room, and the station will be open to visitors at such times as the group is not in session, or the convention program is not taking place. Visually Impaired Data Processors International-VIDPI, an organization of computer programmers, will conduct its second seminar on July 13, 14 and the morning of the 15th. This seminar is sponsored by Oklahoma State University. Advance interest indicates several hundred participants. If you are a programmer, a student of programming or interested in this field, you are invited to attend this seminar. Attention all blind Lions! On Wednesday afternoon, July 15, Mr. Fred Lilley will preside over a discussion meeting designed to establish identities and to open lines of communication. At noon Thursday, these, and other Lions are invited to a luncheon where Dr. Robert D. McCullough, President of Lions International, will be the guest speaker. Dr. McCullough is most interested in working closely with the blind, and this rare opportunity to meet and become acquainted with this outstanding American, is one the American Council is proud to present. An organization new to the Council is formed of visually impaired secretaries and transcribers -- VISTA. This group has prepared an institute for Tuesday the 14th, and the morning of Wednesday the 15th. Among topics for discussion are: "Civil Service Examinations", Training and work problems of a Medical Transcriber," Adjustment to office procedure and necessity for making office friends," and many others. Plans are underway to exhibit recording equipment, optical aids, and other tools beneficial in the secretarial occupation. The ACB Convention Program, which begins at 1:30, July 15th, was outlined in the May issue of the FORUM. All meetings will be held on the Hotel's mezzanine floor. No battling with big lobbies, no wandering up and down stairs. Everything is planned for your comfort and convenience. A registration desk will be open on Sunday afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m., Monday from 8 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday 8 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 8 to 11 a.m., from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. THE OFB HOSPITALITY (REGENCY ROOM) WILL BE OPEN FROM NOON SUNDAY. COME EARLY, STAY LATE AND ENJOY YOURSELF. ***** ** ACB Shuttle Service Between Airport and Hotel By Ed Bradley Thanks to splendid cooperation from airport officials and a corps of volunteer drivers -- including many Lions -- we have perfected plans for shuttle service between the Oklahoma City airport and the ACB convention hotel. After leaving the plane, just ask the skycap to take you to the ACB Transportation Booth in the luggage claim area. Directions to this booth will be posted on signs throughout the airport. This shuttle service will be available at the following times: Sunday, July 12, from noon to six p.m.; Monday and Tuesday, from eight a.m. to eight p.m.; Wednesday, from eight a.m. to noon. Post-convention shuttle service will be available Saturday evening, July 18, and all day Sunday. Delegates wishing to use it can make arrangements before the convention adjourns. ***** ** Announcement of the 1970 VIDPI Conference Sponsored Jointly by: Visually Impaired Data Processors International And Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma TIME: Monday, July 13 through Wednesday noon, July 15, 1970 PLACE: Skirvin Hotel, Park Avenue at Broadway, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Registration opens 3:00 p.m. Sunday, July 12, 1970) RATES: Single $9.00, double $11.00, twin $13,00. Suites: One bedroom and parlor, $35.00; two rooms and parlor, $40.00. (Make room reservations directly with hotel and state your request to Mr. Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. Second, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73104.) FEE: $10.00. Registration fee includes luncheon. For Information, write to: Dr. S. Bradley Burson, Conference Chairman Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439 Phone: 312-739-711 Ext. 2393 Mr. Raythel E. Jones, President 2951 S. W. 53rd Street Oklahoma City, Okla. 73119 Phone: 405-686-2243 * Purpose The acceptance of blind and visually handicapped men and women in the data processing field is an established fact. If one ventures to enumerate the myriad problems that accompany impaired sight, employment inevitably emerges at the head of the list. Those concerned must therefore push ahead to establish this beachhead more firmly and to broaden its horizons. This conference will combine business sessions of the association, Visually Impaired Data Processors International, with a training institute developed in collaboration with the staff of the Rehabilitation Counselor Training Program of the Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. All persons concerned in any way with this field, whether or not visually handicapped, are invited to attend and urged to participate. The program is planned to provide a maximum of worthwhile information to active blind programmers. The technical sessions are intended to elicit from the experienced data processors various methods and techniques currently being used successfully. A review of these skills will be drafted and published. A series of sessions will be devoted to the problems confronted by rehabilitation counselors in their efforts to train and place blind programmers. From these discussions, a Guidelines brochure will be drafted and made available to counselors and to educational institutions engaged in training visually handicapped data processors. For this reason, the staff members and administrative personnel of such schools are urged to attend. Employers are urged to send representatives from their personnel departments and supervisory staffs. If you already utilize the services of one or more blind persons in your data processing facility, the discussions will prove valuable to both yourselves and your employees. It is our desire to improve the efficiency and performance of visually handicapped people in the field. We will thereby stabilize the occupation while at the same time expand the total number employed. * Format of the Conference There are no invited speakers: it is postulated that the best source of information lies within the body of the participants. Each of nine sessions will be chaired by a discussion leader whose responsibility is to stimulate and guide the group in open discussion. Specific teams will be designated to take notes and later to review and compile their collective observations. In this manner, the consensus will be determined and reported. Three general areas of interest will be covered: (1) Guidelines for rehabilitation and training personnel, (2) Resource materials, and (3) On-the-job technical problems and their solution. Session G, following the luncheon will be the VIDPI business meeting. * Other Concurrent Conferences VIDPI is a not-for-profit corporation, chartered in Washington, D.C. The organization had its genesis at the Seminar for Blind Computer Programmers sponsored by the American Council of the Blind in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 1969. A number of other special-interest groups stimulated by the Council will be meeting in the Skirvin Hotel concurrently with this conference. These include: the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America, the National Association of Blind Amateur Radio Operators, the Visually Impaired Secretarial Transcribers Association (VISTA) and the Association of Blind Lawyers. The 1970 Annual Convention of the American Council of the Blind will open at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, July 15, and continue throughout the week. * VIDPI Membership There are three classes of membership in VIDPI, depending upon whether you are a visually impaired data processor, or concerned with the field in other ways. The membership application explains eligibility, dues, and privileges. Please review this material and lend your active support by joining the organization. ***** ** Vendors to Honor Senator Randolph at Convention Senator Randolph of West Virginia has been cited many times by many groups for his leadership in obtaining the original vending stand legislation for the blind and now the people who directly benefit from that legislation have their significant turn. On Tuesday, July 14th at a special luncheon in his honor, the Randolph-Sheppard Vendors of America will present its award to him. More than 3,000 visually impaired people are presently working in federal-state vending stand programs as a direct result of the legislation. Senator Randolph has introduced new amendments to the vending stand law which will greatly increase job opportunities for the blind. The Randolph-Sheppard Vendors have joined with all of the major organizations of and for the blind in support of these amendments, S. 2461. Senator Randolph will be introduced to the special luncheon audience at the national convention of the organization by Leonard Robinson of Washington, D.C., whom he credits with the successful lobbying of the original legislation in 1936. Blind vendors everywhere are invited to attend the luncheon and to join with others in honoring the Senator. The convention will be at the Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City, July 13 and 14th. ***** ** Social Security and Welfare Amendments On May 22, 1970, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 17550, which deals primarily with social security. Because of the widespread interest in the legislative objective to qualify blind persons having 6 quarters of coverage for social security benefits without limiting their earnings, priority is given here to that subject. H.R. 17550 does not include the much sought provision which has been supported by the American Association of Workers for the Blind, the American Council of the Blind, the American Foundation for the Blind, and the National Federation of the Blind. There was, however, a substantial change in the coverage requirements for blind disability beneficiaries. The committee report explains this change as follows: "To be insured for disability protection under present law, a worker must be fully insured and meet a requirement of substantial recent covered work. Generally, to meet the latter requirement, a disabled worker needs at least 20 quarters of social security coverage during the period of 40 calendar quarters ending with the quarter in which he became disabled; a special provision takes into account that workers who are disabled while young may have been in the work force for a relatively short time. "Your committee's bill would extend social security disability protection to additional blind persons by eliminating for them the requirements of recent attachment to covered work. A blind person would be insured for social security disability benefits and a disability freeze if he is fully insured -- that is, he has quarters of coverage, acquired at any time, equal to the number of years elapsed after 1950 (or the year he reached age 21, if later) and up to the year in which he became disabled, except that he could not be insured with less than 6 quarters of coverage and would in no case need more than 40 quarters of coverage to be insured. This requirement would permit blind persons to be insured for disability protection on a basis comparable to that for retirement and survivor benefit protection. This seems to the committee to be a more reasonable basis for qualifying for disability protection on the part of a blind individual, who faces employment problems not encountered by a sighted person. "The provision would be effective for January 1971. About 30,000 persons -- blind workers and their dependents -- would become immediately eligible for monthly benefits. About $25 million in additional benefits would be paid out during the first 12 months." The present income limitations for disability beneficiaries are unchanged by the bill. The amount of earnings permitted to retired beneficiaries is increased by the bill to $166.66 2/3 per month. The bill also makes a change with respect to disabled children, and it is explained by the committee as follows: "Your committee's bill would improve disability protection for persons who become totally disabled before reaching an age at which they are likely to be self-supporting. Under present law, social security benefits are provided for the child of an insured deceased, disabled, or retired worker until the child attains age 18 or, if attending school, age 22. Also, a son or daughter of an insured worker can qualify for childhood disability benefits if he has been continuously totally disabled since before age 18 and is still disabled after the worker dies or becomes entitled to social security benefits. Your committee's bill would permit the payment of childhood disability benefits to such a son or daughter who becomes totally disabled before age 22. "When total disability arises between ages 18 and 22 the disabled son or daughter generally continues to be dependent on his parents. Your committee believes that it is appropriate and desirable to provide social security benefits in such cases should the insured parent die, become disabled, or retire. "The provision for benefits for people disabled since before age 22 would be applicable not only prospectively but also in the case of people who have already met the conditions proposed for entitlement to benefits and would be effective with respect to benefits for months after December 1970. About 13,000 people -- disabled children and their mothers -- would immediately become eligible for benefits. About $10 million in additional benefits would be paid out during the first 12 months." This bill provides for a 5% increase in benefits, effective January 1971. The House added a cost-of-living adjustment clause. It also makes extensive amendments to Medicare provisions, but it does not extend eligibility for Medicare to disabled beneficiaries. Its provisions on Medicaid (Title XIX) are generally restrictive and regressive. H.R. 17550 now goes to the Senate Committee on Finance where it will be liberally revised. The final decisions will be worked out by a joint conference committee of the Senate and House. The membership of the Senate Committee on Finance is listed at the end of this article, for the information of readers who wish to express their views. The Administration's welfare bill is H.R. 16311. It passed the House but received such a hostile reaction from members of the Senate Committee on Finance that the Secretary of HEW, Robert Finch, agreed to consider the substantial objections made and to recommend alternatives. Because of the doubtful future of this bill, it will not be analyzed here. When social security and welfare legislation was being considered by the House Committee on Ways and Means, ACB presented testimony and a written statement. The positions taken by ACB are summarized as follows: 1. Favors Medicare coverage of disability insurance beneficiaries as proposed by H.R. 699 and, in addition, the extension of coverage under Section 1843 of the Social Security Act to disabled and blind public assistance recipients under age 65. 2. Favors enactment of H.R. 6752, which would prevent the imposition of relative responsibility requirements in connection with certain cases of medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act for blind and disabled individuals. 3. Favors enactment of H.R. 3782, which provides for disability coverage of blind persons with 6 quarters of coverage. 4. Endorses the methods provided in H.R. 14080 for automatic adjustments in the earnings limitation for OASI beneficiaries and automatic cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits. 5. Favors the abolition of coverage and recency requirements for disability insurance as provided by H.R. 1067. 6. Favors liberalization of the definition of disability for disability insurance purposes as provided by H.R. 183. 7. Favors enactment of H.R. 1281 to repeal Section 224 of the Social Security Act, which affects beneficiaries receiving workmen's compensation. 8. Favors increasing the earnings exemption for blind welfare recipients to the amount allowed to beneficiaries under Title II of the Social Security Act, with periodic cost-of-living adjustments. 9. Favors increased earnings exemptions for aged and disabled welfare recipients. 10. Favors a requirement that States disregard all OASDI benefits in determining need for recipients of aid to the blind. 11. Endorses, with modifications, the provisions in H.R. 14173 limiting relative responsibility and the application of liens against property and excluding income and resources of non-contributing adults from family income and resources. 12. Favors federalization of Medicaid for and aid to the blind, with a guarantee against reductions in present grants and provisions for automatic cost-of-living increases and liberal standards of need and eligibility. 13. Opposes the abolition of Title X of the Social Security Act. 14. Favors the participation of recipients of aid to the aged, blind, and disabled in the periodic evaluation of State welfare programs as provided by H.R. 14173 and advocates the provision of additional procedures for the representation of interests and views of both welfare recipients and social security beneficiaries. Senate Committee of Finance Room 2227, New Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Russell B. Long, La., Chairman Clinton P. Anderson, N.M. Herman E. Talmadge, Ga. Vance Hartke, Ind. Abrham Ribicoff, Conn. Harry F. Byrd, Va. Wallace F. Bennett, Utah Clifford P. Hansen, Wyo. Len B. Jordan, Idaho Albert Gore, Tenn. Eugene J. McCarthy, Minn. J. W. Fulbright, Ark. Fred R. Harris, Okla. John J. Williams, Del. Carl T. Curtis, Neb. Jack Miller, Iowa Paul J. Fannin, Ariz. ***** ** Special Employment in Public Agencies James Farmer, HEW Assistant Secretary for Administration, announced on June 5, 1970, a new program to train the disadvantaged unemployed and underemployed in public agencies receiving grants-in-aid from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The program, Public Service Careers (PSC), will be administered by HEW in cooperation with the Manpower Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor which has made approximately $8 million available for the effort. PSC will provide career advance opportunities for public sector workers as well as upgrading opportunities for those who need additional job skills for advancement. The Program will focus on poor people out of work who have specific employment problems because of limited education, minority group status, physical or other handicaps or impoverished backgrounds. HEW agencies participating are Social and Rehabilitation Service which will receive $5 million; the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of Child Development and the Comprehensive Health Branch of Community Health Services. The Office of New Careers, under Mr. Farmer, will coordinate the program for the department. The program is designed to operate for up to 21 months in selected states, county and local governments and in other agencies that receive Federal grants-in-aid. ***** ** Freedom of Choice for Medicaid Patients (Editor's note: The following information was released by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.) Freedom to choose among physicians, pharmacists, hospitals, nursing homes, and other providers of medical services is now the right of patients whose medical bills are paid by Medicaid. Any individual eligible for Medicaid may obtain the services covered by his State's Medicaid program from any qualified institution, agency, pharmacy, or practitioner participating in the program. Included are organizations offering medical services on a prepaid or membership basis. "The right to free choice among providers is another step toward a single quality of medical care for all Americans rich or poor," said Federal Social and Rehabilitation Administrator, John Twiname. Medicaid, now in operation in 52 U.S. jurisdictions, provides medical assistance for more than 12 million needy and low-income individuals who are aged, blind, disabled or members of families with at least one parent dead, absent, or incapacitated. Certain other needy families are included in many States. About half the total cost is borne by the Federal Government and the balance by State and local governments. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands where most medical services are provided under Federal auspices, are not required to grant freedom of choice to Medicaid patients until 1972. The freedom of choice requirement, one of the 1967 amendments to the Medicaid law (Title XIX of the Social Security Act) became effective elsewhere July 1, 1969, and is incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations by publication in the Federal Register on June 5, 1970. ***** ** S. 3644 -- Free or Reduced Air Fare for Blind Persons and Guides At the request of the American Council of the Blind, Senator Ralph Smith of Illinois has introduced S. 3644, a bill to amend the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 in order to authorize free or reduced rate transportation for blind persons and persons in attendance, when the blind person is traveling with such an attendant. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Commerce Committee and will be considered by the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation. The members of the subcommittee are listed at the end of this article. As in the case of trains and buses, the effect of this bill would be permissive rather than mandatory. The Council's 1969 resolution on this subject is as follows: WHEREAS the American Council of the Blind and other organizations of and for the blind have recognized the need and justification for travel fare concessions for blind passengers accompanied guides on busses, trains, and airplanes; and WHEREAS it is frequently necessary or desirable as a matter of convenience and safety for blind persons to have the assistance of sighted companions during travel and after arrival at their destinations; and WHEREAS such travel fare concessions have been authorized and have worked successfully for all concerned on buses and trains in the United States for more than 30 years and are permitted on airplanes in several European countries; and WHEREAS we believe that the same satisfactory experience would result if airlines were permitted to extend such travel fare concessions to blind persons with sighted guides without adversely affecting the costs or convenience of the airlines; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the American Council of the Blind in convention assembled at Charlotte, North Carolina, that this organization reiterates its interest in and support of Federal legislation to permit airlines to extend travel fare concessions to blind passengers who are accompanied by sighted guides. Approved July 18, 1969 Senate Committee on Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation Room 5202, New Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 Vance Hartke, Ind., Chairman Howard W. Cannon, Nev. Frank E. Moss, Utah Hugh Scott, Pa. James B. Pearson, Kan. Joseph D. Tydings, Md. Russell B. Long, La. Earnest F. Hollings, S.C. Winston Prouty, Vt. Howard H. Baker, Jr., Tenn. ***** ** Fair Hearings for Welfare Recipients John D. Twiname, Federal Social and Rehabilitation Administrator, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare announced on May 29, 1970, the issuance of proposed regulations revising policy on fair hearings for recipients faced with loss or reduction of Welfare benefits. The proposed regulations require that State agencies continue public assistance payments during the fair hearing process when there is an issue of fact or judgment in the individual case. The new policy also requires State or local agencies to notify the recipient in advance of the proposed action and offer him a conference with agency officials if he so desires. The regulations specify that States must provide information to claimants to help them make use of any legal services available in the community for representation at fair hearings. The new policy modifies an earlier regulation which would have become effective on July 1, 1970. The earlier proposal would have required the States to bear cost of counsel for a recipient during the fair hearing. "If the States choose to pay costs of legal counsel to represent recipients, we will provide Federal matching funds," Mr. Twiname said. "We believe, however, that the choice is a matter for State decision." The new regulations combine a requirement for a pre-termination evidentiary hearing set forth by the Supreme Court in the recent Goldberg versus Kelly case, and a provision of the Social Security Act requiring a fair hearing before the State agency. Both requirements will be met in one hearing. The proposed regulations, published in the Federal Register on May 29, 1970, are scheduled to become effective on July 1, 1970. Specifically, the regulations amend Chapter II of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, by revising Section 205.10, adding a new Section 206.11 and revoking Section 220.25. They also consolidate all the existing Federal requirements on fair hearings. Comments from interested parties are invited and must be submitted within 30 days to the Administrator, Social and Rehabilitation Service, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C. 20201. ***** ** Speaker Condemns Full Pension Plan By James Johnson A government-guaranteed full pension for every worker in the U.S. would be the "back door to socialism," a top ranking Social Security Administration official declared in Oklahoma City today. Robert J. Myers, Social Security Administration chief actuary, speaking at the Oklahoma State Medical Association Convention, said such a move would dry up a potent source of investment funds. "If Social Security were expanded so that people could get their entire take home pay provided by the government when they retire, it would eliminate private pensions plans," Myers said. "Accordingly, all private plans no longer would exist and people who borrow money from these plans for mortgages and other investments no longer would have that money source. "Then," he said, "they would have to turn to the government for funds and the government would control more and more of business enterprise." Myers said only seven percent of those on Social Security in the U.S. also qualify for welfare assistance. He said this indicates that the present Social Security provisions are adequate. However, he predicted that liberal Democrats will make a major effort to expand Social Security. "I believe this would have catastrophic effects on people as individuals and further that it would have the side effect of greatly weakening or destroying our private enterprise system," he said. Asked whether he thinks destruction of private enterprise is the primary aim of Social Security expansionists, he replied, "These people would have no objection to that because of their general philosophy of having the government do more and more." Myers also had sharp words for former Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Wilbur J. Cohen, who he said sabotaged the Supplementary Medical Insurance program as a lame duck in the dying days of the Johnson Administration. He said that under the guise of "freezing physician fees" he set the insurance rate at $4 instead of the actuarially sound $4.40. He said this bankrupted the SMI trust fund and forced the Nixon Administration to increase the rate to an embarrassing $5.30. "Cohen acted purely for political reasons. He was a lame duck. He said he was helping the Nixon Administration freeze physician fees," he said. "With friends like that," he said, "who needs enemies?" (Editor's note: The preceding article is reprinted from the Oklahoma City Times on May 16, 1970. Mr. Myers is in an influential position on consideration of Social Security amendments. His is not a policy-making job, and he should be more objective, if not friendly.) ***** ** W.C.W.B. Resolutions Concluded * Resolution 7 Legislation WELCOMING the already widespread adoption by the Governments of many countries of legislation protecting the rights of the blind and regretting that such legislative protection is not universal. THE ASSEMBLY RECOMMENDS: That in countries where protective legislation does not at present exist Parliaments be urged to introduce legislation covering the following minimum requirements: (a) A quota system to protect blind people in employment. (b) Free education, rehabilitation and vocational training for all blind persons capable of benefiting from it. (c) A compensating allowance for blind adults to offset the expenses incurred by their disability and the need for paid assistance in many aspects of life. (d) A subsistence allowance to enable blind people, who are without income and who are incapable of work because of their age or infirmity, to lead a decent life. * Resolution 8 Representation WELCOMING the growing feeling of solidarity amongst the blind of all Nations and amongst National and International Organizations concerned with blindness, and wishing to express the common purpose which generates and inspires all such effort THE ASSEMBLY AGREES: 1. That the Council re-affirms the principle laid down at the 1964 Assembly that "where in any country there exists a substantial group of blind persons occupying leading positions in agencies for the blind, adequate provision should be made for their representation in the National Delegation." 2. That it is the duty of the Officers and Executive Committee to do everything practicable to ensure that this principle is observed in the spirit and in the letter. 3. That the Council recognizes the essential role of responsible Organizations of blind persons in the history and development of work for the blind and will do everything in its power to ensure that they are accorded the representation to which they are entitled in this field of work which depends for its effectiveness on partnership between organizations of and for the blind, and directs the Officers and Executive Committee to offer the maximum resistance, within the Constitution, to discriminatory practices by either party. * Resolution 9 Acknowledgement THE ASSEMBLY has already expressed but wishes most gratefully to record its cordial thanks to the President, Prime Minister, Government and people of India for the privilege of having our meetings in this great and hospitable land; TO the President, Council, Officers and Staff of the National Association for the Blind of India which, by the manner in which it has organized this Assembly, has added even further to the high esteem in which it is held in work for the blind throughout the world; TO the President and Members of the Blind Relief Association of New Delhi for their great hospitality, and for the effectiveness of all the arrangements they have made on our behalf; TO the host of voluntary helpers from the School of Social Work and other Institutions; and, most specially to the Secretariat of the World Council and all their collaborators and to the Preparatory and Reception Committees; TO them and to all the Councils friends in India, the Assembly records true thanks for all that has been done to ensure the success of a fortnight which will leave its mark in the history of work for the blind and will long live in the memory of all who participated in it. * Supplementary Resolution The Representatives of the Unions and Associations of the Blind and for the Blind, Research Institutions and other National Organizations of the Council's 54 Member Countries dealing with the problems of the blind, have gathered in Delhi at the Fourth General Assembly of the Council to discuss the problems of further improvement of welfare of the blind. At present there are at least fifteen million blind persons in the World. Enormous numbers of people become blind as the result of War. Mankind faces a multitude of problems, yet it is the problem of peace which is one of the most important. The present level of science and technology provides objective conditions for complete medical, social and vocational rehabilitation of the blind, but peace is essential for the fulfilment of this noble program. We appeal to the United Nations, to the Governments of all States, to all International Organizations and progressive people of the World to do their best to prevent wars. ***** ** National Blind Bowling Tournament News By Oral O. Miller, President American Blind Bowling Association, Inc. 6327 31st Place N.W. Washington, D.C. 20015 This year the national championship blind bowling tournament was held in Detroit from May 28 through 31. Since the 1971 tournament is to be rolled in Portland, Oregon, many people expected this year's event to be substantially smaller in attendance than in recent years (in the belief that many bowlers would skip the 1970 tourney in order to save money for the 1971 event), but most of those people were surprised. The tourney attracted almost a thousand bowlers altogether and the team event alone attracted over 150 teams. As of this date (only a few days after the tournament) all the scores have not been audited and we do not know the names of the winners, although I know of several scores which will surely finish high on the prize list. At the annual convention Oral Miller of Washington, D.C., was elected to a second term as President; Charles Morgenstern of Whitehall, Pa., was elected First Vice-President, and Walter Snyder of Brooklyn, N.Y., was elected Second Vice-President. After a spirited campaign by each of the prospective tournament sites, the 1972 tournament was awarded to Philadelphia, Pa. That tournament will also celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the annual tournament. The other invitations for the 1972 tourney were submitted by Buffalo and Cincinnati. Such interest reflects the growing enthusiasm regarding blind bowling and such interest is bound to benefit the American Blind Bowling Association and blind bowling. We encourage and invite anyone interested in bowling to contact us; we shall be pleased to furnish all the information you may need. ***** ** Treasurer's Report -- June 3, 1970 To some contributors, I was able to write personal thank you letters. To those who did not receive letters I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for you; excellent support of your American Council of the Blind. Some of the following are individual or affiliate dues and may not be classed as contributions. However, they are listed so that you may know how we are progressing. Listings start with February 7 of this year. * Members at Large - $3.00 H.B. Hutchinson, Atlanta, Georgia (5) Miss June Goldsmith, Memphis, Tennessee Mrs. Dolly Blazevic, Minneapolis, Minnesota Clarence and Iva White, Bradenton, Florida * Sponsoring Memberships - $5.00 Earl M. Dawson, M.D., Los Angeles, California * Sustaining Memberships - $10.00 James Spangenberg, Evanston, Illinois * Affiliate Memberships - 20 cents per member Alabama Federation of the Blind, Inc. Oklahoma Federation of the Blind Maricopa County Club of the Blind, Phoenix, Arizona Wisconsin Council of the Blind Vermont Council of the Blind Kansas Association for the Blind American Council of the Blind of Maryland Associated Blind of California New York State Council of the Blind * General Contributions - Total $108.00 Miscellaneous from President Reese Robrahn's Office Mr. and Mrs. Norman W. Laudemann, Topeka, Kansas Ernest Bankroff, Elwood, Illinois * Contributions to Braille Forum - Total $91.00 Carlos and Ira Mae Erwin, Baton Rouge, Louisiana C. Clifton Virts, Annapolis, Maryland Richard Kohl, Portland, Oregon V.S. Harshbarger, Jefferson City, Missouri J. A. Mullins, Lubbock, Texas Miss Anne E. Marvin, Charlottesville, Virginia M.C. Strode, Morro Bay, California Muriel F. DePatis, Inglewood, California Mrs, Edna Williams, Portland, Oregon Clarence & Iva White, Bradenton, Florida Ferne Pritchard, Oakland, California * Braille Forum Tape Contributions Received through Loretta Freeman's Office Mr. and Mrs. G. Arthur Stewart, St. Louis, Missouri Arthur Bushman, Reno, Nevada Ways & Means for the Blind, Augusta, Georgia Mrs. Mary L. Norton, Anaheim, California Mrs. Ida T. Goll, New Orleans, Louisiana John J. Reilly, Largo, Florida * Contributions to I. Affiliate Memberships - Total $197.20 Michigan Federation of the Blind C. Fred Pearson, San Diego, California Arnold Sadler, Seattle, Washington. Georgia Federation of the Blind Reese Robrahn, Topeka, Kansas Dalton Brown, New Orleans, Louisiana * Ned Freeman Memorial Fund - $50.00 Kansas Association for the Blind Your support of the American Council of the Blind is appreciated by your officers and Board of Directors. We help all of you and we need all of you. Hope to see many of you at the convention in Oklahoma City. Fred Krepela, Treasurer American Council of the Blind 241 State Street Salem, Oregon 97301 ***** ** Blind Vocalist Is Inspiring Example By Howard Jacobs Far from being an insurmountable handicap, blindness has served as a challenge to a 26-year-old singer of country music who was an honor graduate of Fortier High School. He is Darryl Jacobs, who sings his own compositions and who is recording them with increasing success. The resolute young man, who is totally blind, composed and recorded under the Hawkeye label the melodies "It's Been Like Heaven" and "Tomorrow Will By Your Wedding Day." His latest recording is another lilting ballad, "An Angel To Me." Jacobs, a devout parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, sings periodically at the Ponchatoula Hayride, a family country music emporium which specializes in the Nashville sound. "I love folk music," said he, "because it is realism. It is the perfect outlet for love, tragedy, compassion, and humor." Born with impaired sight, Jacobs lost his vision completely three years ago from glaucoma and cataracts. But even despite his severe handicap he applied himself so energetically at Fortier, helped by the honor society, that he graduated as a 90-plus student. "I couldn't read because even then my vision was far gone," said he, "so I memorized. I learned a lot that way, and it has stayed with me over the years." ***** ** Be Sure You Know Your Real Borrowing Costs From the Union Labor News: The new truth-in-lending law which went into effect July 1969 is probably the most important ever passed for your protection as a buyer. It finally ends the nationwide deception by which virtually all lenders and sellers made their finance charges sound lower than they really are and misled many families into paying high credit fees. That is, the new law will end this deception if you make it work for you. In other words you must compare the real cost of installment buying or borrowing. For example, if you buy a late-model used car and have a balance of $1,500, you may pay a dealer a finance charge of $10 per $100 of debt. If you take three years to repay, your total finance charge is $450. But if you borrow the cash for the car from a credit union or bank, your cost will be in the neighborhood of $292 for the three years. The department store's 1 1/2 percent a month on revolving charge accounts is a true 18 percent. If you borrow from a finance company your cost will be 3 percent a month of 36 percent per year. If you use your own savings, you will only be losing 4 or 5 percent. ***** ** Letters to the Editors (Editor's note: This column has not been included in the last few issues because of our need to conserve space. The following letters, however, warrant printing despite this space shortage.) * Irwin Lutzky, 130 Martense Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 11226, May 23, 1970 Dear Mrs. Murphey: In the May issue of The Braille Forum there was an article called, "Is Communism Really a Threat?" by Fred C. Lilley. Although I really have no objection to the content of the article itself, I feel that it does not belong in the Braille Forum. Not that blind persons should not be interested in what is going on in this country as well as throughout the world because we are citizens of the world and daily events affect us, too. However, I feel that this publication should be devoted to articles directly or indirectly associated with the problems of blind people. There are many other news and political publications in which such an article would be more appropriate. As you said yourself, space in the magazine is very limited and should be devoted to articles concerning us specifically. Your article concerning those persons who are legally blind and still drive automobiles was very interesting. I think that the A.C.B. as well as all affiliated state and local groups should start a campaign to remove such drivers from the highways. Frankly, I don't mind if they kill themselves, I don't want them to kill me in the process. Our motto should be ... "Drive carefully, The life you save may be mine." Sincerely, Irwin Lutzky * Charles W. Thibodo, 641 Downing Ave., San Jose, California 95128, May 26, 1970 Dear A.C.B., Your May issue contains an article by Kenneth Hinga entitled, "Never Say Die" regarding the problem of legally blind persons who continue to drive their automobiles and still have their licenses. He feels guilty to "rat" on these "responsible" citizens. I can understand his feelings and they are shared by most counselors, home-teachers, and social workers who have to deal with the one percent of our clients who engage in the kinds of anti-social or illegal behavior which endangers their own lives and the lives of others. I am a blind social worker and have run into similar situations. We do have to respect the confidentiality of records and we do have to try to have a good working rapport with our clients. However, we also have a responsibility to protect our clients and to protect society. How would that client feel if they were to kill or seriously injure themselves or someone else in an accident? Is that client aware of the serious law suit that would likely occur in an accident? How will that counselor feel if a serious accident occurs which he failed to do anything to prevent? In California we have already had the damaging effects to the Aid to the Blind program of blind recipients being called "cheaters" and "fakers" of blindness when it was discovered and published statewide by the news media that a few Aid to the Blind recipients had driver's licenses. The credibility of social workers who processed applications and of eye doctors who gave eligibility examinations was questioned. Even the Governor was forced to make a State wide public statement that blind aid recipients would be investigated and those having driver's licenses would be re-examined and compelled to either give up their licenses or be denied Aid to the Blind. The key word in Mr. Hinga's article is that he calls these citizens "Responsible." They may be and probably are responsible in all other areas of their life, but if they are legally blind and still driving, they are not being responsible in that one aspect of their life. As for methods of dealing with the problem, the first method to try is persuasion. Talk directly to the client and point out the dangers that they are causing to themselves and to others, including those items I have mentioned. If you know their family or friends, try to get their help in persuasion as they are probably more worried than you are. Also, indicate other ways of getting around without having to drive their own car. If persuasion fails, then I feel the next step is to use the threat of reporting them if they will not quit driving. If that still fails, then I feel there is no choice but to report them to the proper government agency. The interesting thing that usually happens in these instances is that in the end the client usually continues to respect that counselor who was thoughtful enough about them to save them from a very dangerous situation. I once procrastinated about reporting a negligent mother to the juvenile authorities. She often left her two-year-old son unattended. On morning the child, not having had breakfast, ate some Drano and thus burned the inside of his mouth and throat and could have permanently lost his power of speech. My guilt over "ratting" almost caused a disaster to an innocent victim. A similar type of thing can happen to the counselor and to the driver (or worse) if the counselor allows his guilt to overcome his reason when danger to life is involved. Sincerely, Charles W. Thibodo * Edson O. Geissler, Box 947, Carefree, Arizona 85331 Dear Editor: Thank you so much for supplying the information on the closed-circuit TV reading system; however, my field of vision is so limited that my ophthalmologist advises that such a device would not be practical. I would like to comment further on the braille book device developed by Argonne Laboratory. (To further clarify this to your student) If it were desirable to re-read a sentence or a paragraph it would only be necessary to rewind the tape the required distance ... It would seem to me that it would also be desirable on the part of the designers of this mechanism to produce an audio tone signal between chapters so that it would be possible to refer to any portion of the book with relative ease ... I would also like to comment on the proposal by one of your Congressmen regarding introduction of a law which would provide tax incentives to corporations who would rehabilitate and employ blind persons, which I learned of through the August issue of Monitor ... (Most) orientation seems to be directed toward persons who have been blinded in the early part of life and most of their education obtained as blind persons. They tend to overlook the fact that persons who become blind today are largely in the older group, usually beyond 50 years of age ... It seems to me there is a special problem with persons who have pursued one career for years and are suddenly faced ... with having to function not only in daily personal care but in employment without the use of sight. It would, therefore, seem to me entirely desirable for the American Council of the Blind to sponsor and encourage such legislation, particularly in the case of the present employees in relation to their employers so that such employees would not have to forfeit the pensions, hospitalization and other benefits which they have obtained perhaps over many years. ... I believe such employer should be given tax incentive to retain blind employees in suitable portions of their own organization rather than forcing them to go to new employment. Such legislation should also encourage other employers to rehabilitate and train blind persons for employment in their organizations. My suggestion is that such employers should be given tax credits up to about 50% of a person's salary during a training period up to about two years, with a limit of 10% of the total employees of such an organization. You may also be interested to know my views in supporting the American Council rather than the National Federation. For a number of years it was difficult for me to understand why two such organizations should continue to exist, and until the Braille Forum and the Braille Monitor became available in recorded form, I could not understand the difference between the two organizations. I want you to know I heartily approve of the policies of the American Council, particularly of the freedom of affiliates of the organization and members of such affiliates to hold and state viewpoints which are not in total agreement with stated policies of the Council. I also heartily approve of the American Council's work in their effort to obtain one-fare privileges on airlines such as we now have on surface transportation since railroads have almost gone out of the passenger business and bus transportation leaves much to be desired. There are several facets of the basic policy of the National Federation of the Blind with which I am in total disagreement: first, their gag rule which rules out any public statement of views which are conflict with stated policy of the National Federation. I also disapprove of their anti-establishment attitude, particularly in reference to the American Foundation for the Blind, and their opposition to the Accreditation of Agencies and Services for the blind. Sincerely, Edson Geissler ***** ** Here and There By George Card When Harold Krents, totally blind, cum laude graduate of Harvard, was finally given an opportunity in the NBC newsroom, his boss said: "I'm giving you the chance to produce, and you can either sink or swim." Of course, Krents wrote, "This was all I had ever wanted." At the end of that summer when he went back to finish his law course, his boss stated, "I want you to know that we have gotten more work from you than we have ever gotten from anyone who has held your position before. You have earned the respect of every news reporter and writer in here." Krents wrote: "I was given the opportunity that thousands of blind, deaf, orthopedically disabled and mentally retarded people cry out for. We ask nothing more than the chance to prove what we can do." Delbert Aman writes that the South Dakota Rehabilitation Center for the Blind was dedicated on May 2 and 3. It was the fulfillment of a dream. The Lions Sight and Service Foundation and the Rehabilitation Services Administration in Washington, D.C., were the main contributors of funds. From the Louisiana Division for the Blind Newsletter: This state now has 101 vending stands being operated by legally blind persons. The operators are allowed to keep all the profits which their stands earn. Most states take a percentage. In the beginning an operator is provided with the space, equipment and stock free of charge. After that he is on his own, even though continuous counseling and technical advice are available. From the ABC Digest: Eighty-five percent of the pupils in the California School for the Blind have handicaps in addition to blindness, most of them very severe. The remaining fifteen percent are the normally blind students with no other handicap, and these are given short shifts simply because of the greater needs of the other students, most of whom must be taught and cared for on a one-to-one basis. Lumping the normal blind child together with the multi-handicapped blind child in the same category and treating them as though their problems, both educational and social, were exactly the same is frightening to us. On the other hand, public schools do not have satisfactory programs for blind youth in home economics, manual training, mobility training and blind students are not properly taught to use Braille. Students are coming out totally untrained in the areas of social adjustment and blind skills. From the Hoosier Star-Light: Because of budget problems, the AFB has been forced to discontinue publication of TOUCH-AND-GO, its magazine for the deaf-blind. -- Regina Ellen Kane was struck by a truck in Indianapolis early this year and was protected from everyone, including the help of the police, by her guide dog. The dog had to be disabled with mace before Miss Kane could be taken to the hospital. Perhaps the circulation manager was a bit surprised to discover that the boy who called and was hired on the spot was blind but after Mike went to work there was no question as to his ability. Mike Underhill, who is 12 years old, is one of the Dallas TIMES HERALD'S most conscientious and punctual newsboys. From the AAWB NEWS AND VIEWS: Mary E. Switzer and Jansen Noyes, Jr., will receive the newly established National Accreditation Council Award for their leadership in developing a new approach of improving services for more than a million blind and visually handicapped Americans. -- John B. Twiname, 38, was named by HEW Secretary Robert H. Finch to become Administrator of the Social and Rehabilitation Service, succeeding Miss Mary E. Switzer. From the GFB (Ga.) DIGEST; The blind of Georgia find it difficult to understand how the Department can expect others to place confidence in them and in their clients when they themselves are unwilling to employ blind persons as counselors. "The Lord's Prayer has 56 words; Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 256; the Ten Commandments, 297; the Declaration of Independence, 300. A recent Government order on the price of cabbage has 26,911 words." -- Sen. Stephen Young, via Ohio Council Bulletin. -- Milton Jahoda, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Association of the Blind, who is himself blind, has been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Clyde Ross. -- The first national bowling tournament was held in the late 1940s with fewer than 100 participants, mostly from Philadelphia and New York. The American Blind Bowlers Association was formed in 1951. Membership now numbers in the thousands. -- The OCB has lost another beloved leader -- its president Al Smith -- who died March 17 after a brief illness. -- At the annual OCB seminar, John Taylor told how they accomplish things in Iowa. They spend money to get what they want. They give the legislators a free dinner at a cost of $4.50 per plate, then they proceed to tell them what they expect of them. Dr. Donald Howell, President of the National Bible Foundation, Inc., 4096 N.E. Sixth Avenue, Oakland Park, FL 33308, will send the Bible in braille without charge upon request by a reader. From the ILLINOIS BRAILLE MESSENGER: Bryan Shaw, Pleasant Hill, who graduated in 1907 has attended every alumni meeting of the Illinois Braille and Sight Saving School since that time. He is now approaching 83 and wonders if he doesn't perhaps hold a national record. -- The Illinois Federation is welcoming a new chapter, the Rock River Blind Association, centered in the Dixon-Sterling area, some 120 miles west of Chicago, which has 40 members. William English, who has been principal of the School for the Blind in Virginia, will become superintendent of the Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped on August 1, succeeding R.E. Long. Mr. Long is retiring after many years of distinguished service. He will be honored by the blind of the state at a testimonial dinner on July 25. According to a bulletin just received from California there are 91 legally blind teachers in that state, 42 of whom are totals; 55 are teaching sighted students and of these 33 are totals. Fourteen are teaching at the college level. The Oregon Council BULLETIN reports the death of Dr. Walter Dry, former superintendent of the Oregon School for the Blind and of Mrs. Oral Hull who had made it possible to establish a campground for the blind near Sandy. -- It describes the organizational meeting of the new NFB affiliate in Oregon. President Wally Menning and others who attended as observers were told that if they tried to speak, they would be ejected. -- The Oregon Council now has six $400 student scholarships for the children of blind parents. "It is claimed that integration of services to the handicapped provides psychological advantages to the client served and that this leads to economy and efficiency but there is little objective evidence available to demonstrate that either is so. On the contrary, in large agencies blind people are likely to be lost sight of and their program needs given low priorities ... To date, no evidence has been produced to support reasons for the efficacy of providing specialized services to blind and otherwise visually impaired persons in general settings. -- The greatest sign of a civilized nation is seen in its treatment of its most disadvantaged ... In recent years our growing affluence has served to spotlight the existence of massive poverty through the country ... The existing public welfare program has failed to achieve the objective of preventing dependency and preserving individual dignity and self-direction. Even today poverty and blindness are too frequently thought of as being synonymous ... There should be developed a national plan for adequate income maintenance for all persons who have special needs because of blindness or other impairments and whose security cannot be assured through full employment or social insurance. ... The declaration method for determining eligibility for public assistance should be adopted in the interest of preserving the sense of dignity and self-worth of blind recipients. -- from policy statements by AFB. LISTEN reports that 1,500 guests attended a testimonial banquet in honor of the departing Mary Switzer at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington on February 24. It was a tribute dinner, honoring a career, a cause and a lady who has made great contributions in public health and rehabilitation. There were thousands of messages of praise and appreciation from all over the country and from abroad. She had directed the Federal-State program for rehabilitation of the disabled since 1950. ***** ** ACB Officers President: Judge Reese Robrahn, 329 Woodbury Lane, Topeka, Kansas 66606 First Vice President: George Card, 605 South Few Street, Madison, Wisc. 53703 Second Vice President: Vernon Williams, 217 Western Union Bldg., Aberdeen, S.D. 54701 Secretary: Mrs. Mary Jane Schmitt, 510 Tarrington Rd., Rochester, N.Y. 14609 Treasurer: Fred Krepela, 241 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301 ** Directors Mrs. Cathie Skivers, 836 Resota Street, Hayward, Cal. 94545 Floyd Qualls, 106 N.E. 2nd Street, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73104 Dr. S. Bradley Burson, 917 Kenyon Street, Downers Grove, Ill. 60515 J. Edward Miller, 2621 Chesterfield Ave., Charlotte, N.C. 28205 David Krause, 2121 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037 Fred Lilley, 7629 Dale Ave., Richmond Heights, MO 63117 Don Cameron, 724 S. Davis Blvd., Tampa, Fla. 33609 Arnold Whaley, 8458 East Brainerd Rd., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37421 ###