Evening star., 1952-03-06


Chairman James J. Delaney Of the
House committee holding hearings on
flu0ridatiOn has been deluged with let
tiers from all over the country protest.
ing the plan. While he has described
fiuOridatiOn Of public water as mass
medication" Mr.. Delaney says his
committee is trying to ''be fair to all"
in making some Difficult decisions"
much sign Of ignorance as the old
fashioned mistrust Of new-fangled con-
traptions.
Tampering with nature is indeed risky,
as is everything else we do. and should
be undertaken with sober estimate OF
the amount Of risk involved. In the case
Of fluoridation of drinking water, it is
proper to lay all the significant evidence
before the public. It is quite wrong to
do as Parent" suggests in his letter to
The Sunday Star-to let a group Of lex
perts" decide for US. without question.
The writer Is research physicist by
occupation and has dealt with consult
ants and has played the role Of con-
sultant. An expert Is man who knows
more than you do about some particular
subject. He is not superhuman. He is
not expected. within the profession, to
bat 1000 per cent, and almost never does.
Any good scientist realizes how poor
and fumbling are our efforts to control
nature and how microscopically small Is
our understanding of natural forces. For
example, the electronic controls Of q
guided missile are considered q triumph
OF modern engineering, yet how pitifully
crude is our missile compared to bee?
There have been many attempts to In
vest various groups Of specialists with
extraordinary virtues in the public eye
nurses, physicians, psychologists, teach.
ers, social scientists" even physical sci-
entiStS. These, the result Of jealous
publicity, have all died out, and the COM
mon sense Of the public has prevailed.
The most important rule in dealing
with an expert Is that the customer has
to use his own head too, and the benefits
he gains increase directly to the extent
that he does SO.
L. Fleming.
To parents Of children who will soon
be too old to benefit from fiuoridation,
time is of the utmost Importance. I.
If only it were possible for parents to
buy bottled fluoridated water for their
children in the same way one can buy
special Vitamin d milk, 1t would at least
provide a temporary solution while the
discussion dragS on.
M. J. Bulk.
While am sure our Federal and Dis
trict dental authorities are competent in
all matters concerning teeth, the prob
able harmful effects Of fiuoride on the
organs of the body should be matter
for medical authorities.
How will fluoridation affect the organs
Of older people who are already plagued
with ailments?
Throughout darkest Africa, Asia and
South America. one can see semicivilized
people with good sound teeth, yet in So
called civilized countries, large per-
centage Of the people are wearing store
bought teeth. Why?
We could already be getting too many
chemicals in our daily diet without the
unnecessary addition Of duorides.
Mason T. White.
=,
Your paper has been giving an excel
lent account of the hearings on fiuorida-
ton.
I agree with the persons whose letters
appeared in The Star. February ~. that
our water should be left clean and that
sodium fluoride should not be added until
that chemical is proven absolutely HARM
less.
Not every family has the money to
buy spring water for drinking and cook
ing purposes. And If you have the money
you can't escape the use Of sodium fluo-
ride If you eat in restaurants.
A good diet with minimum Of sweets
and soft drinks will Of itself minimize