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PAGE TWO March of Dimes Clinic Head Forecasts Pre-Marital Tests for Birth Defects . Before most thoughtful young couples marry, they do a great deal of planning for the future. They ponder about jobs, homes of their own, saving money for their retirement years. All well and good, but— The pediatrician-in-chief at famed Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, Md., wishes they would invest as much thought—be fore marriage—in their planning for healthy children. Dr. Robert E. Cooke predicts the development of pre-marital tests which would forewarn of genetic deficiencies or flaws in either or both parties to a marriage that could cause their chil dren to be born with serious defects due to heredity. Dr. Cooke speaks from extensive knowl edge of the problem. In addition to his aca demic position, he is responsible for the Birth Defects Special Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins, which is financed by March of Dimes contributions from the Baltimore City and County chap ters of the National Foundation. The genetic tests which Dr. Cooke sees for the future would bring to light gene patterns in potential parents that could cause their children to be born deaf, blind, mentally retarded or malformed. By the same token, the tests when adequately developed would also reassure the vast majority of young couples of the likelihood of their hav ing normal, healthy families. What if a young couple agrees to undergo these searching tests, and the results show they might have babies with congenital malforma tions? Would such a marriage be forbidden? Dr. Robert E. Cooke Tests Are No Bar To Marriage “By no means,” Dr. Cooke said in a recent interview. “The tests should be voluntary. An unfavorable prognosis or prediction should not provide, in my view, either legal or moral grounds for advising against marriage. “The results of biochemical examination of their blood and cell enzymes should be made available to prospective parents and the outlook for their offspring made quite clear. But ulti mate decision as to marriage should be left to the individuals themselves.” Dr. Cooke added that genetic defects in the husband and wife may also be the cause of childlessness. Pursuing his line of thought further, Dr. Cooke said that our young people should be given a better understanding of this subject. Proper instruction would minimize anxiety and permit them to plan their futures in a mature manner. The noted pediatrician would like to see more genetic investigation and counseling of patients by physicians—he calls it “anticipa tory medicine.” He feels that medical students should become much more knowledgeable about human embryology. “More than a quarter of a million babies with significant birth defects are born eiery year in the United States—almost 700 daily. Until scien tific research can develop means to prevent these tragedies, young people who are the mothers and fathers of future generations should under stand how and why they happen,” he said. Such premarital tests as Dr. Cooke advocates are not practical today on a widespread basis because of a lack of appropriate laboratories. “But with increased research in birth defects, and with improvement in our medical technol ogy and our laboratory facilities, genetic tests will soon become practical and feasible,” he pre dicted. “Through them we may well come to the actual detection of future birth abnormalities and possibly prevent many by proper handling of the pregnancy.” He Defines i Birth Defects* Dr. Cooke says there is a great confusion re garding the term “birth defects.” Medically, these are congenital anomalies caused by genetic factors or by injury to the embryo during its life in the womb. Most of the general public mis takenly believes that birth defects are limited to those apparent at birth, such as missing ex tremities, an enlarged head (hydrocephalus) or open spine (spina bifida). But many more subtle birth defects are not disclosed until maturity and even middle age. For example, severe high blood pressure ap pearing in later life has been shown in many instances to result from congenital malforma tions of the blood vessels of the kidneys, a dis order present at birth but unrecognizable at that time. Birth defects also account for many cases of diabetes, urological disorders and gout that do not become apparent until middle life. The list could be substantially lengthened, Dr. Cooke pointed out. The Birth Defects Special Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins is one of a rapidly growing num ber of centers in various parts of the nation financed by National Foundation chapters using March of Dimes contributions. They provide comprehensive medical care for victims, with emphasis on early diagnosis, prevention of dis ability, rehabilitation and expansion of knowl edge concerning birth defects. In addition, the voluntary health organization has established university-affiliated birth de fects clinical study and research centers in Columbus, Ohio, Oklahoma City, and Nashville, Tenn. A similar program of March of Dimes- supported treatment and research centers in arthritis is also in effect across the country. “Birth defects cause 21,000 deaths each year in the United States,” says Dr. Cooke. “That’s twice the toll taken by tuberculosis and ten times the annual number of deaths from whoop ing cough, measles, polio and infectious hepatitis combined. “The National Foundation-March of Dimes is taking a historic forward step in searching for a preventive. Until it is found, one thing we might do is to determine, before marriage, what types of family genetic histories are likely to lead to the calamity of major birth defects. The means to do it are within our reach.” Webster’s Dictionary... THE PRODUCERS OF WEBSTER'S LATEST DICTIONARY say that "ain't" is a good and proper word. It ain't how much you make but how much you save that counts. Ask the more than 7,500 savers at Newberry Federal who will receive more than $275,000.00 in Divi dends at the current rate of 4% pr annum on December 30th, if this isn't true. MOST OF OUR SAVERS SAVE BY THE WEEK AND BY THE MONTH. We don't have many rich people who save with us, but we do have thousands who save a little each time they receive their pay check. That's what counts, that's what makes NEWBERRY FED ERAL the largest savings institution in Newberry County. I -V CURRENT DIVIDEND RATE PER ANNUM (COMPOUNDED SEMI-ANNUALLY) 1823 COLLEGE STREET, NEWBERRY, 8- C. BRANCH OFFICE — Batesburg, S. C. J. F. CLARKSON M. O. SUMMER Directors G. K. DOMINICK J. K. WILLINGHAM E. B. PURCELL W. C HUFFMAN ■J'’-' THE NEWBERRY SUN, NEWBERRY, SOUTH CAROLINA ' . ■ ML. .I,. - - - — Mrs. U. S. Savings Bonds of 1962 mmm S :v : -^ ; „ £ . : - J- V * m Ill m. J* . *>' M m Blonde, blue-eyed Mrs. Emily Terrall, of St. Helens, Oregon, is the new ‘‘Mrs. United States Savings Bonds of 1962.” As a Tfeasury volunteer Goodwill Ambassador, she will tour the nation during the coming year in the promotion of Savings Bonds. The 37-year-old housewife won the title from among 51 state con testants for the “Mrs. America” title in competition just closed at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where she appeared as "Mrs. Oregon." The Terrall family is no stranger to Savings Bonds. Husband of the new “Mrs. Savings Bonds” is an industrial engineer, and buys bonds regularly on the Payroll Savings Plan. Mrs. Terrall, an alumna of the University of Washington, has been active in the PTA-sponsored school stamp program. And needless to say, their three sons—aged 7, 9 and 12—are all avid stamp buyers. Mrs. Terrall is the fifth winner of the “Mrs. Savings Bonds” title. She succeeds Mrs. Vivian Ackerman, of Tucson, Arizona. THE HANDY FAMILY BY LLOYD BIRMINGHAM YOU NEED A A PONT WORRY, NEW WASTE BASKET) MOW, I'M. GOING IN YOUR ROOM / TO MAKE ONE JUNIOR-THIS WITH A OLD ONE'S ) NAUTIOAL THEME A MESS & JUNIOR'S PUN FOR A NAUTICAL WASTE BASKET it r rope 7 holes SIDE PIECES* w PUMOOD <-4'"—*i*\ SCRE' K-4 WASHINGTON AND SMALL BUSINESS By C. WILSON HARDER While it did not get to vote in the past session, it is quite certain that the proposal to ex pand Social Security to provide medical care for the aged will again be introduced in Cong ress in January. * * * It is signi ficant that in a nationwide poll of the na tion’s inde pendent busi nessmen con ducted by the National Fed eration of In- dependent Business, al- c. W. Harder most three-fourths of them are opposed to this measure. * * * There is an old Arab proverb to the affect that once the cam el gets his nose into the tent, he soon takes over the tent. And it is proved time and time again that once a bureauc racy gets irto a free institu tion, that institution is gone. * * * It is not necessary to go fur ther than the British Isles to st e this principle at work. Af\«r nibbling away at what was once a fine system of medi cine, bureaucracy came into full bloom with the National Health Service. * * * Today, more British taxes go to support this welfare medi cal scheme than is devoted to supporting the national defense of the country. It is estimated today that the average British wage earner pays out in taxes for this system two or three times the cost of good private medical insurance. * * * And what does he get? Very little evening or Sunday aid for one thing. And in addition, ac cording to reports, the quality ^ National Feder ni-v rf I uric pendent Bu3!reps of men entering British medi cine is deteriorating. ♦ * * As British medicine has now become a civil service func tion, with automatic pay raises according to time served, and all the other stultifying aspects of civil service work, British medicine is attracting a differ ent type of person. * * * While there are some imper fections in the American sys tem, any one who wants to practice medicine must have a spirit of dedication to carry him through the long rigorous schooling and training pro gram, knowing at the end of it, there is no automatic income guaranteed. It Is in some as pects a most brutal system of selection, yet usually only those the fittest to practice medicine survive. * * However, under the British system, anybody who can man age to keep up the minimum grades is guaranteed imme diate rewards, a lifetime of security, with automatic in come increases. * * ♦ It also seems significant that when former Prime Minister Anthony Eden became ill, he was first operated on in Bri tain, bat was finally sent to America for surgery and re covery to health. * * * In Britain it all started in nocently enough. The govern ment got into the practice of medicine in just a small way. Then it got in a little more. The next thing, medical prac tice became government, v a * For never in the history of mankind has any bureaucracy, once started, stayed static, let alone shrunk, for the unseen motto on every bureaucrats desk is “Every day and in every way, this bureau must fret bigger and bigger.” Utt 1218 Colkf« Street NEWBERRY. S. C. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY O. F. Armfield, Jr., Owner Second-Class postage paid at NeT’ ^^ry, South Carolina. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $2.00 per year in ad vance: six months. $1.25. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 11 THEN AND NOW .. .Television antenna on this 1845 log cabin in Monroe, Wis., is? merely a sign of the times. The house is presently occupied by the Wil liams family. SOME CATS . . . Strange rela tions, this monkey and cat, resi dents of a Bradenton, Fla., gift shop. The animals are insepara ble—in or out of the cage. By C. A. DEAN, M.D. MEDITORIAL: Breaking a seri ous laxative habit requires a lot of cooperation from the patient. Besides a high residue diet (in cluding bulk medicines, fruits, vegetables) and regular habits, there are a few new laxating agents that are helpful. The decision as to what medi cines and laxatives to use should come from the family doctor. Gradual weaning from all laxa tives is the goal. There is no rea son why normal bowel habits can't be established in most patients no matter how long they have been on laxatives. If the patient either drinks a small amount of fluid daily or loses a large amount of water through sweating, there will be a small amount of fluid in the sys tem and hard, dry movements. An adequate intake of fluids is important to avoid this type of constipation. It is advisable to have at least eight to ten glasses of water or juice daily. In an occasional patient an un derlying colitis (inflammation or spasm of the colon) may be a con tributing cause. This has to be treated before the constipation can be corrected. In the older age group there may be the opposite of a spastic colon, that is, an inactive colon with the inadequate peristaltic stimulants. Stool softeners are very helpful for this condition. Should constipation develop sud denly after many years of regular habits or unexplicably become much worse, it is important to find out the reason for this change first and not to try self-medica tion. Trying to correct the situa tion yourself may delay the dis covery of a possible cancerous tumor until it is too late to cure. When under any treatment for constipation, it is always better in emergencies to take a small enema rather than a harsh laxa tive. A m w JUST A THOUGHT: Sometimes we are so boay looking for things to criticise that we overlook many things that merit a word or two of praise or congratulations. Under the Juniper D O NOT despair of the present when you read in the papers or hear over the radio of many crimes. It was worse in the “good old days.” The wide dissemina tion of news makes the time seem worse than the past And there are more people in the world now. So do not despair of the United States if a few delinquents do some dastardly thing. There are multiplied millions who are re specting the iaw. And why despair of the human race because a small number of men and women do the things that fill the papers with lurid things? Multiplied millions of our people have not robbed a bank or shed the blood of their fellows These thoughts are suggested by an incident in the life of Elijah, the prophet of God in an evil time and in an evil land. When God found Elijah under a juniper tree and asked what he was doing there, the prophet replied that the enemies of the Lord had slain his prophets, overthrown his altars, and were seeking the life of Eli jah to take it away. And the old prophet lamented that he alone was left to serve God. Then the Lord told Elijah there left 7000 in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Boal. And there are mil lions on our land who have not betrayed their faith. 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