Evening star., 1953-12-06
Citizens Federation
Backs Use Of Dogs
ForMedicaI Research

With only d scattering of
NOS" the Federation of Citizens
Associations last night adopted
a report of itsiHealth Committee
to indorse the proposal to make
dogs from the city pound avail
able for medical research. The
action was by voice vote.
The Federation indorsed the
Commissioners proposed order
''to mGke available for purposes
Of medical research and instruc-
ton at approved institutions. i'm
pounded animals which other
wise would be destroyed" The
delegates wrote into the report
4 provision that animals should
be held at the District Pound
for at least 10 days to enable
owners 70 claim them.
Col. Edward A. Kane, COM
mittee chairman. in arguing for
adoption of the report, told the
federation more biological re-
search is needed. He said dogs
will help science fulfill that need.
He pointed to the benefits &C
curing to mankind from expert
ments with insulin on dogs and
on pellagra, as we'll as in other
diseases.
Needed in Radiation Tests.
Dr.. Malcolm C. Henderson, a
nuciear physicist, representing
the Connecticut A'enue Citizens
Association, informed the fedora
tiou dogs are needed to deter
mine effects of radiation frcm
atomic bombs.
Mrs. Ernest w. Howard of CO.
lumbia Heights Citizens Assocja-
tion put in a word for "the COM
mon old hound dog" that might
be loved by some child. She
argued for the Today limit to
permit owners of lost animals to
recover those held at the pound.
Vivisection is not at issue in
the dog proposal, Commissioner
Louis w. Prentiss said in radio
talk last night.
Interviewed on the Report to
the People" program over Station
WWDC, Gen. Prentiss said the
question is more where the doc
tors get the dogs they use. Now
most Of the dogs are brought in
from Pennsylvania.
Testimony on the subject by
opponents of the proposal at
Fridays public hearing dealt
prominently with the practice of
vivisection itself, however. The
hearing will be resumed Jan
uary 25.
Facts To Settle Issue.
Gen. Prentiss said that he pro-
posed to vote on the question on
the basis of the facts, and not
on the volume of expressions re-
ceived.
On another, subject, Gen.
Prentiss disclosed that James H.
Flanagan, vice president of the
Capital Transit Co. and new
member of the Motor Vehicle
Parking Agency, expects to pro-
poseasa fringe parking plan to
the agency.
Reached after the program,
Mr.. Flanagan said he was not
prepared to release details of the
plan as yet, but that it contem-
plated two sites in northwest
Washington for fringe parking
near existing service. The sites
could be served by supplement
tai service if the demand were
large enough to warrant it, he
added.
Downtown Restrictions.
Gen. Prentiss said that fringe
parking is only one of the pos
sible steps which could be taken
to help the problem of off street
parking. He said it is not pos
sible to provide enough spaces
downtown for all the people who
want to go down and park at
one time.
In answer to another question,
the engineer commissioner ex-
pressed the view that the city
heads probably would leave to
the board of education the
timing of an end to segregation
In the schools if the Supreme
Court rules out segregation with
out specifying how quickly it
should be abolished.