James O. Henry, M .A., Editor, Chairm an of the Department of History, Biola College
U.S. Is Criticized on Youth Crime
British Note Rise in Radioactivity
The handling of juvenile delin quents in the United States is char acterized by, “ a welter of unsyste matic and uncorrelated measures without any o v e r a l l philosophy,” according to a United Nations’ re port made public recently. The 134 page report on juvenile delinquency in North America was prepared by Dr. Paul W. Tappan, pro fessor of sociology and law at New York University for the United Na tions Economic and Social Council. According to the report “ delinqency has become extremely imprecise, and courts have come to handle emotion ally disturbed and s o c i a l l y mal adjusted children with little regard to any standard criteria.” In contrast to youth crime in other countries, Dr. Tappan said, “Delinquency in the United States thrives in communities and families where standards of liv ing are relatively high.” He said also, “ The roots of delinquency run deep into the soil of American culture -— with its materialism, its intense com petition, its repugnance to political authority and regulations, its conflict of values and of institutional norms, and its deterioration of standards of behavior.” Medical Science Unlocks a New Door The day may soon be approach ing when merely breathing elec trically-charged air will bring re lief to bum victims and sufferers from pollen allergies. A two-year study by a research team at North eastern Hospital, Phila., has turned up some astonishing results by the use of negative ions in the treat ment of asthma, hay fever and burns. Investigation showed that 90 to 95% of persons with severe aller gies received considerable relief when exposed to negative ionized air. A parallel study showed that the same type of air can be helpful in treating burn patients who re ported they were more comfortable and showed “ a remarkable absence of complicating infections.” In most o f the cases treated in an ionized room a reduction in pain was noted. Ions-electrically-charged particles
Plants grown on the impover ished soils of Britain’s moorlands and mountain tops are accumulat ing radioactive fall-out “ to the extraordinary degree.” This con clusion was extracted from an ex ploratory study of the radioactivity of British vegetation. As more than one-third of the total living space of the British Isles is composed of moorland, mountain top and upland grazing, the report is likely to upset public health au thorities. Dr. Gorham of the Fresh Water Biological Association con siders that the radioactivity of up land plants may account for the known but hitherto inexplicable concentration of Strontium-90, the exceptionally dangerous constituent of fall-out, in the bones of upland sheep. Upland plants have to. fight for survival and they are able to absorb very small amounts of elements necessary for their growth. It ap pears that they also absorb radio active elements easily. Population Rise of 100% Is Seen The world’s population of 2,737,- 000,000 w i l l d o u b l e within 40 years, it was predicted recently. United Nations statisticians based this forecast on their calculation that 34 babies are bom for every 18 persons who die. The significant factor, they reported, is the declin ing death rate. The birth rate has remained virtually constant over the last 20 years. This produces an a n n u a l p o p u l a t i o n increase of 1.6% , or 5400 persons an hour. During the last two decades, the records show, the death rate de clined more than 25% in most countries and as much as 50% in several, c a u s i n g a p o p u l a t i o n g r o w t h o f n e a r l y one-fourth. Among other things recent surveys show: L a t i n A m e r i c a has the world’s greatest percentage growth, 2 .5% a year. Numerically, Asia leads with 24,000,000 new inhabit ants a year.
fill the air. These ions are either positive or negative. It has been generally known that positive ions are associated with tension, head aches, fatigue, bad temper and poor performance, while negative ions tend to induce feelings of good health and vigor. Research has de veloped an ionitron which can be attached to an ordinary room air conditioner to fill the air with nega tive ions and thus possibly bring relief to millions of sufferers from summer allergies. Ministers' Plight Americans apparently want their clergymen to “ live on earth and board in heaven,” a study of Pro testant clergymen’s salaries recent ly indicated. The study found that clergy men’s salaries average $4,432 an nually for a 60 to 80-hour work week. Two-thirds of the clergymen are in debt, it was learned, and the wives of many have to work to bring in extra income. The study examined the salaries of clergymen in nine major Protestant denomi nations. The study also noted that “ professional expenses for clergy men run into a heavy percentage of income.” It explained that, while 90% of the clergymen studied re ceived housing allowances, the homes were often old, large and costly to heat. Furthermore, the re port stressed, ministers are not adequately reimbursed for care ex penses, their greatest “ business cost.” The major causes of the indebtedness of clergymen are the expenses of sending children to school and college, high auto cost, ill health and the rising expenses of food, clothing and other basic items.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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