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PAGE 14-PLA1N0EALER-WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1971 EDITORIALS The Dream World k. Drugs, which so many young people have tried and are trying, no doubt produce a dream world for the perplexed, Worried, anxious and thrill-seekers. In some cases the use of drugs produces dramatic benefits, as in the medical field, but it has yet to be shown that drugs can have any permanently beneficial effect when used habitually by those not illr~A hot argument is in progress at present whether marijuana is harmful physically, though many exports have stated that its hibitual use is detrimental both physicialU and economically. What it boils down to is that the present rat-race pace of much of American life has tempted the curious; many ;thrill-seekers, escapists, disillusioned and laz\ to turn to £ drugs for kicks and pleasure. And there is nothing wrong * with pleasure. . __ _ ' . • History has shown, however, that work, accomplishing something^ is the source of genuine pleasure. Leisure, and pleasure indulged in during leisure1 hours, is possible be­ cause there is, or has been, work. Habitual users of dnigs '.miss this vital point and the change which often takes place in the personality and earning ability of drug users is unquestionably impractical, and frequentK tragic, in . the modern world. IjPlaying To Readers *»• For hundreds of years newspaper editors and owners have *3>een faced with the question whether their pub'icaJjiv. should !print news and features designed to inform and uplift the level * H)f the average reader or play to his tastes, whether or not foul •lor sordid. :* In time of economic crisis, naturally enough, the urge of *Imany has been to play to the tastes of the masses, for sur- *Mval. Many slick magazines in recent years have turned to this I practice to avoid demise. The good of the nation, the reader, ;*is a secondary consideration; what is peddled is sensationalism, •Tshock, vulgarity and obsenity--to sell copies. I- On the other hand, it is disappointing to see such entrenched '.national powers as the New York Times overplay revolution- •'aries and radicals. Articles in effect legitimizing homosex- '-uals--the lead article in a Sunday magazine--repetitive pic- '.tures and articles about revolutionaries. m;lita.its and those • 'teaching violence, etc., tend to help the cause of those who ;-are so carefully reported on, in full. Freedom of the press is to be retained at almost all costs; * "thus nothing can be done in this field beyond that which editors >can do. They must exercise good judgment and use good taste. J Though articles about law breakers, violence makers and rev- > olutionairies (and sexual deviates) attract attention and even [-attract readers in certain areas, the public interest is not served -Tby over-coverage of anything which encourages abnormal or > illegal behavior. Installment Buying Excessive installment buying is sometimes considered an un- --desirable by-product of advertising. The link is unfair to ad­ vertising and to advertisers. Certatn'y installment buying is encouraged by advertising. But ! foolish accumulation of excessive debts is not encouraged by any * merchant. Judicious use of credit by consumers has been a basic ele- Iment in our expanding economy during the past thirty years. Most * installment buying is economically and socially sound. " Installment buying makes it possible for millions o' people to enjoy better housing, better health, and a richer life than would ever be possible under a system of cash payments. It keeps industry moving and people working. Often installment buying represents a direct financial saving-- e.g., when the payments on a new home are lower than rent on I an out-dated apartment; when new laundry appliances substan­ tially reduce laundry bills; when new cooling and heating systems reduce doctor bills and increase efficiency. It is true that when the consumer buys on time-payment plans he is hoping to enjoy the fruits of his labor as he earns. Cer- - tain material needs could never be obtained by many young fam- ! ilies otherwise. Essential services could not be obtained. Insurance, for instance, is nothing more than the purchase ' of security by installment payments. Expenditures on education ; could be similarly classified. Of course there are abuses of easy credit. No system is a ' substitute for good judgment and maturity. When advertising ; encourages installment buying, it makes a plea for sound in- * vestment. However, it cannot be held accountable for the actions of financially hapless individuals. SOCIAL SECURITY by El win Kris 1 IE 1.1) U EI 'K ESE \ T A TIY E Today 's quest ions are ones frequent ly being ask­ ed of our representat ives by the people of Me Henry county. The Social Secur­ i ty ol t ice a t 250H Grand avenue, Waukegan. re­ minds Mcllenry county res idents that i t has repre­ sentat ives meet ing people a t two locat ions in Mcllen­ ry rounty on a regular ba­ s is . The representat ives are ai the Woodstock Pub­ l ic Library, 414 W. Judd, Woodstock every Wednes­ day from 9 a .m. to noon and at the Harvard ci ty hal l f rom 9:3<l a .m. to noon on the f i rs t and third Tues­ day every month. If you ha\e a quest ion you would l ike answered on Social Se­ curi ty in this column, then please forward i t to Social Securi ty Adminis t ra t ion Quest ion and Answer Col­ umn. 2. j ( l ( i Grand avenue, Waukegan. I l l inois , 00085. ( l ive \our ful l name, ad­ dress , and Social Securi ty number. If you do not want your name to appear , please indicate this and we wil l use only int i t ia ls . Q. My neighbor said he ap­ plied for Social Security benefits by telephone. Is this possible? A. Yes. Many applications can now be processed by telephone and mail. The in­ terviewer will complete the application by telephone and mail it to you for signature. Q. Do I have to have my birth' certificate before I telephone the Social Security office? A. No. But you should have your Social Security number available. The interviewer will tell you what documents are ' 5 1 ; b f i f c l k h- : n :•; /K-'-iMJ'ti ll'h I; :• ?r i < U THIg WAV \our\ <?5HD necessary and where to obtain these documents. Earnings information for the current and past year would be helpful. Q. Can I telephone anytime to apply for benefits9 A. The Social Security office has definite workload peaks. Generally these occur during the first week of the month, the early days of the week, especially Monday, as well as mid-morning and mid- afternoon on any given day. You can receive better service if you avoid these peak periods. Q. What number should I call to apply for Social Security benefits? A. For toll-free phone ser­ vice, just dial "operator" and ask for "Enterprise 4505". Q. My wife and I are receiving Social Security benefits and Medicare. Sometimes we have a question but do not feel like making a special trip to the office to get an answer. Could we do this by telephone9 A. Yes. you may. In fact you are encouraged to telephone first. It may save you the trip or get things started if you do make a visit to the office. Many reports, such as a change of address, are now accepted by telephone. For free phone service just dial "operator" and ask for "Enterprise 4505". PUBLIC PULSE (The Plaindealer invites the public to use this col­ umn as an expression of their views on subjects of general interest in our community. Our only re­ quest is that writers lim­ it themselves to 300 words or less - signature, full address and phone num­ ber. We ask too, that one individual not write on the same subject more than once each month. We re­ serve the right to delete any material which we consider libelous or in ob- jectional taste.) ' ' D e a r E d i t o r ; "All the issues involved in the high school referendum seem to boil down to one factor - where do you place your value? "Is money really more im­ portant than young lives with their future in the balance? Would a tax raise of $1 a week (more or less) justify a "NO" vote9 "Could you justify it to a young man who may never go to college because he has no chance for an athletic scholarship? "Could you justify it to the young person who dreams of making art or music their chosen career? "Could you justify it to dedicated teachers who are trying to educate our children for a better world? "We adults complain because our young people do not accept our standards, morals or values. We can't blame them if we always put monetary values ahead of human lives. "Voters of McHenry are given an opportunity to express their faith in our young people. A "YES" vote indicates that we are willing to make a financial sacrifice for the benefit of several thousand young people. "Where do you place your value? "Nena Thornton "Mrs. Robert Thornton "6604 W. Mason Hill road "McHenry" FIGHTING FOR PRINCIPLE "Dear Editor: "Re: Chuck Terrell, secretary of the Indian Ridge Masters Improvement association, Wonder Lale. It's the principle I'm fighting for, not the number of the sticker I was issued that's at stake. Let's get that understood. "The No. 2 sticker that is rightfully mine, and which I could not receive the night my dues were paid due to some mix-up within the organization, and which I've inquired about several times since, never came. Yesterday (March 12) he said he'd forgotten all about me, and would have it right out. "No. 148 arrived today, I was told I'd have to take it and like it,-as he did not question his wife's policies, and that fur­ thermore, I was never to phone him again, and 'good-bye Mrs. Gustafson!' - "I'm under the impression I live in a Democracy, and not under Dictatorship. I was also under the impression that he is the secretary, not his wife. "When Mr. Henderson held the office, he was most obliging, available at all times, and able to handle this job by himself. "Sincerely "Evelyn Gustafson (Mrs. Earl) "7111N. Oak Street "Wonder Lake" BIGGEST BARGAIN "Editor: ' How about asking someone to care for your child 8 hours a day, to transport him, to feed him for a nominal fee, tend to him if he gets sick, reprimand him if he is irresponsible, try to help him if he is disturbed, and last, but not least, educate him. How about saying, "will you do all this for 50 cents an hour?" Most anyone would laugh at you, in this day and age- except, that is, the school board. "If you have only one child in school and are paying $600 in real estate taxes, this might be close to what you are paying out of them for his education per hour. If you have two children, it would be 25 cents- per hour and if you have three, it would be 17 cents per hour. In the last case the referendum would raise the cost less than 1>2 cents per hour. Don't you agree that it is the biggest bargain in town? "For the fixed income people with no children, it is something else, and some other form of school support must be legislated. And this must be done soon. "When this time comes, hopefully within the next 2 or 3 years, I hope we will have as good a school system as exists here now. In order that this be so, I feel we should be fair about this referendum, and pass it. "When considering this referendum, these are things to remember: "We voted away the personal property tax school money; The school boards had no choice in picking up some cost on the less fortunate special education children; they had no choice, but to place in school, all the additional children who have moved into our school district; they are, with low cost per pupil in mind, working very hard on the vocational training programs which have been lacking in our school system. These are very necessary for the kids, who for one reason or another will not go on to college. "I do not think the school has been frivolous with money. They, for sure, have had many additional costs thrust upon them beyond their control. We did vote a sizable sum of money away from them in the defeat of the personal property tax. - Inflation did surely affect them at least as much as it has us. So if we are fair about it, and want a bargain, we must pass this referendum on March 20. "Dan Fry" FOR BETTER SCHOOLS "Public Pulse: All of a sudden to my amazement I find people are willing to let education go down the drain. This strikes me strange. I feel that after thir­ teen years of working with various youth groups I cant understand this strange change of heart, and I should speak out.With the extra activity going on hand in hand with the education program we know where our children are and can be found. Will we be able to do this when the schools will close at 2 in the afternoon? Without the extra school activity such as sports, various clubs, etc., what will our children do without this extra activity and where will we find them? "I spent twenty-two hours this weekend with the boys and girls that range from freshman to seniors, and watched them in their marathon volleyball games, to promote this referendum in which they have belief. Over the weekend out of those that I have talked to were two gentlemen-one was 77 years old the other was 68 years old. They both felt that the education and extra activities are a wonderful thing. A comment was made that with personal property tax, which we have all moaned about, gone the money must come from somewhere. A third person remarked that even though retired and on Social Security, he doesn't mind the rise it would bring in taxation because he figures with the new and possible raise he would get if the new billion Social Security goes through he can still be able to get along. His main message was pay the fiddler, if possible, so that the music continues with harmony and not violence. He also asks why should the boys and girls be punished for a few extra dollars and have everything taken away from them. "We know that there are so many with nothing to do they look for some kind of a job, but don't get hired because of age. Some figure out what to'do with their spare time, others end up in trouble. Either way they all have a lot of energy and must burn it up somehow. Please don't get me wrong on my views, but I cannot see the education and the extra ac­ tivities program go down the drain. It seems that those that are moaning about the almighty dollar which today does not carry its supposed power will be the first to ask 'how come and why' for these cuts. Help is always asked for but never coming because the word for today, 'I don't want to become involved*. I am by no means a man in the upper brackets of finance but am going to vote yes and if the bill does pass I will feel I am the righest man in the world because of what it will mean to all the children. Save our schools. Vote yes on March 20. "Joseph C.Prazak" THE REFERENDUM ' ' D e a r E d i t o r ; "As a teacher in the McHenry elementary schools, I'm very concerned by some of the things I hear people of this community saying about the March 20 McHenry high school referendum. I'm afraid a few people are confused about the different school districts which exist in this township. There are three separate elementary school systems, but only one high school system operating the public schools of this township. "1. Each school district receives its own tax money to operate the system. Money received by an elementary school district cannot be used by a high school to operate. Likewise, a referendum to raise money for Johnsburg schools cannot be used to operate the elementary schools in McHenry. "2. The three elementary school districts in this township are trying to prepare young people as best we can for a very challenging future. We have been very proud of our high school system which has become a leader in this state in continuing our best efforts to prepare the youth of this community for their future in the twenty-first century. High schools near and far are studying our high school system in operation. Let's not take a backward step by voting no on March 20. This com­ munity cannot afford to offer our young people a second-rate education ; they are not second- rate children--I know; I've been here long enough to have known several hundred of them well enough to say, They're first rate and they deserve an accredited first rate education in our high school'. Vote yes March 20 to continue improving a high school system we can all be proud of. "Sincerely, "Margaret Hall" WHO'S IN TROUBLE? "To the Public: "It must be nice to be tax supported. When you run short of money, you just ask for more money. The taxpayer works hard for this money that you want. The school district doesn't want to give up anything that they already have. In fact, the school district would like to do more than they do now. "The taxpayer of 'money tree' will have to give up something so the school district can have everything that they want. This one-way attitude doesn't stop with District 156; it goes right on with all tax- supported institutions. Give up nothing and want more all the time. "Evertime taxes go up, the taxpayer has to go without something else. The taxpayer has no one to ask for help when he is in financial trouble. "District 156 says that $6.30 out of every $10 added in the last ten years has been burned up by inflation. Open your eyes, District 156, inflation is everywhere--not just in your pocket. The taxpayer comes in contact with inflation more than a school district because the taxpayers' needs are more complex than that of the school district. "Let's look at some of t*"? other District 156 facts: "Larger student enroll­ ments - counterbalance -Lar­ ger number of taxpayers. "No new aid from state since state income tax- counterbalance--State income tax is only in its second year./ Any aid from state income tax is money that the school district never had before. Should the state come up with a new tax every year so they can give more aid every year? "Taxes collected through this referendum cannot be used for constructing buildings- counterbalance--Taxes for new construction will be asked for at another time. "Reduction of administrative and professional staff- counterbalance--Just maybe some of this staff is not necessary now. "Present educational tax rate of .92 cents per $100 of assessed valuation has been the same since 1958-- counterbalance--County tax assessors have reassessed taxpayers' properties three times sin~e 1958. Reassessments seldom go down. The years * when reassessments are not per­ mitted by law, the rate of taxes per $100 of assessed valuation goes up. There is no referen­ dum to help stop these ways of increasing (axes. "Who's really in trouble? "William E. Kirk?' i -- j More coal was produced in Illinois last year than > in afny of the preceding 22 yeirs, ac­ cording to David L. Gulley,/di­ rector of the Department' of Mines and Minerals. Production of 64,884,103 tons was the lar­ gest since the 1948'postwar boom when 66,000,000 tons were mined. Value of the 1970 pro­ duction was 4283,000,000 or $3 million more than the valua­ tion of 1969's production, 64,- 832,584 tons. For Your Information WE WANT MORE L O C A L N E W S . . . - Tell Us Like It Is-- And Often! Dear Friends, Every person who attends a funeral has a certain responsibility in connection with the service. Any unnecessary noise or confusion detracts from the quiet reverence that should be a part of every service. We have appreciated the cooperation given us by the public. The bereaved family is al­ ways most grateful for an atmosphere of quiet reverence during the last tribute. Respectfully, ° McMenry. I l l inois PETER AiJlJSTtN & SON FUNERAL HOME 385-0063 yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiiiiiiiimiiimiiimmiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiimiiiiiiiyj I Are You New) | In Town? | | Do You Know Someone j | New In Town | We would like to extend a welcome to 1 e v e r y n e w c o m e r t o o u r c o m m u n i t y . . . 5 1 CALE I In Wonder Lake | Gen 1 Weisenburger i 653-3792 RECOMMEND WE USE JAHE'S You CAN Tell .The Difference... by appointment 385-7771 R K PRODUCTS • Hair Styling • Razor Cuts PGOF^SI ONA1- T0*Y OPTOMETRIST Dr. John F.Kelly At 1224 N. Green Street McHenry (Closed Wednesdsy) Eyes examined .. Glasses fitted Contact Lenses Hrs: Daily 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday Evenings - 8:30 p.m. Evenings by appointment PHONE 385-0452 Dr. Leonard Bottari Eyes Examined - Contact Lens Glasses Fitted 1303 N. Richmond Road lours: Mon., Tues., Thurs.and Fri. 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tues., Thurs., & Fri Eve. 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Sat.: 9:30 to 3:00 p.m. No Hours on Wednesday PHONE 385-4151 If No Answer...Phone 385-2262 Ear/ R. Walsh Fire, Auto, Farm & Life Representing i ' REUflBLE COMPANIES When You Nsed Insurance ot Any Kind PHONE 385-3300 or 385-0953 3429 W. Elm St., McHenry, 111. George L. Thompson General Insurance *LIFE %*AUTO •"HEALTH *FIRE *CASUALTY , *BOAT Phone 815-385-1066 3812 W. Elm St., McHenry In McHenry Plaindealer Bldg. OFFICE EQUIPMENT McHenry County Office Machines Sales-Service & Rentals Typewriters - Adders Calculators Mon.-Sat. 9:00-5:30 » Friday 'til 9 p.m. PHONE 459-1226 93 Grant St., Cyrstal Lake, 111 LETTER SERVICE Fran Olsen I 385-5740 | Joan Stull 1 385-5418 | Ann Zeller 1 385-0559 1 fllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIir ROYAL WELCOME Mimeographing - Typing Addressing - Mailing Lists McHenry Letter Service 3509 W. Pearl St. McHenry PHONE 385-5064 Monday through Saturday. INSURANCE Dennis Conway AUTO, LIFE, FIRE STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANY 3315 W. Elm St. McHenry, Illinois Phone 385-5285 or 385-7111 METAL WORK Craft - Weld Ornamental Iron Work • RAILINGS • COLUMNS • GATES HI-POINT RD. & S.RT. 31 McHENRY,ILL. PHONE 385-8340 If No Answer, 385-7048 GET ATTENTION