Milford chronicle., 1957-06-07

DANGER OVERHEAD

DANGER OVERHEAD
The wisdom of having military planes en-
gage in exercises low over heavily populated
areas was called into question again by the
terrible Memorial Day accident in Mime
ap0lis. A pilot was killed, parts of two jet
planes were strewn over mile-wide section
of the city, and nine civilians were injured.
The mid-air plunge of the two planes was
witnessed by crowd of 10000 gathered in
a cemetery for Memorial Day ceremonies.
Only stroke of luck prevented the planes
from crashing into the crowd and cauS-
ing much greater loss of life.
It is not fair to cenSure the military on
this occasion. The flight of planes, like many
others in various parts of the country, was
undertaken in honor of those who have died
fighting for the nation. These planes were
sent aloft in accordance with a custom of
many years standing
However, there is a difference between
plane exercises over crowded city area and
over the great open spaces of an air field. In
the latter case, the chances of tragedy are
minimized, but when planes fly in formation
relatively low over residential sections there
is always the grave danger that if there is
an accident, tragedy will be compounded.
The pilot killed in the Minneapolis crash
died in the service Of his country as surely as
did those whom he and his comrades were
hOnOring. In death he will do an even greater
service to his country if the accident serves
to call widespread attention to the danger
of formation flights over populous areas.
THE HIGHWAY DEATH RATE
Although total casualties on our high
ways are continuing their steady climb,
which should be a matter of concern to all
of us, the most recent figures of the National
Council estimate that we, in the United
States, are actually doing a little better, pei
miles travelled, than we were doing severa,
years ago.
This may surprise some, but recent fig
ureS show that the mileage death rate in
1856, according to the Council, was 6.4 pei
1O0,OO0,000 vehicle miles. This represents
an actual mileage death rate fOrty-seven pei
cent below that of 1911.
1t must be kept in mind, also, that motor
vehicle registrations since 1941 have in
creased fifty-seven per cent and that trave
mileage has increased eighty-nine per cent
Thus the reduction in the mileage death
rate is somewhat encouraging even though
total accident casualties and fatalities con-
tinue to climb
We should strive to make more prog
reSS in the direction of reducing the mileage
death rate, because it is certain that more
and more motor vehicles will be registered
and that travel mileage will continue to in
that we are reducing the death rate per mile
and there may be hope that the new Federal
highway system may give boost to this
trend.
EVERYBODY IS NOT HAPPY!
No, indeed, the American people are
mot happy" about some of the goings-on in
the nations capital!
Returning from countrywide tour
Ernest G. Swigert, president of the Ma
tional Association of Manufacturers, had
this to report:
Never before has the demand for econ
omy in government been so widespread
and so insistent.
Every individual and every business
concern, large and small, is conscious of the
impact of taxation"
A bill now pending in Congress, intro
duced by Representative AntOni Sadlak (R.
Conn., wOuld-for tGc first time in our his
tory-compel big federal spending pro-
grams to compete against regularly sched-
uled income tax reductions. It is the first
practical attempt to put an automatic brake
on future spending plans and, in Mr.. Swig
ert's words, ''the first real hope in 25 years
for sensible tax reduction