Evening star., 1963-01-14

guilty.
Proposes Medicore,
Increase in Doctors
Q Second, we need to strengthen
our Nation by safeguarding its
health:
Our working men and women
instead of being forced to
beg for help from public charity
once they are old and ILL
should start contributing now
to their own retirement health
program through the Social
Security System.
Moreover, all our miracles of
medical research will count for
little if we cannot reverse the
growing Nationwide shortage
Of doctors, dentists and nurses,
and the widespread shortages
Of nursing homes and modern
urban hospital facilities. Merely
to keep the present ratio of doc
tors and dentists from declining
any further, we must over the
next 10 years increase the ca
pacity of our medical schools
by so per cent, and our dental
schools by 100 per cent.
Finally, and of deep concern,
I believe that the abandonment
of the mentally i'll and the
mentally retarded to the grim
mercy Of custodial institutions
too often inflicts on them and
on their families a needless
cruelty which this Nation
should not endure. The Incl
dence of mental retardation in
this country is three times as
high as that of Sweden. for ex-
ample - and that figure can
and must be reduced.
Q Third, we need to strengthen
our Nation by protecting the
basic rights of its citizens:
The right to competent coun-
sci must be assured to every
man accused of crime in Fed
eral court, regardless of his
means.
And the most precious and
powerful right in the world, the
right to vote in a free American
election, must not be denied to
any citizen on grounds of his
race or color. / wish that all
qualified Americans permitted
to vote we're willing to vote
but surely, in this Centennial
year of Emancipation, all those
who are willing to vote should
always be permitted.
. Fourth, we need to
strengthen our Nation by max
ing the best and the most
economical use of its resources
and facilities:
Our economic health depends
on healthy transportation art
cries; and ] believe the way to
Ia more modern, economical
choice Of national transporta-
ton service is through in
creased competition and de-
creased regulation. Local mass
transit, faring even worse, is
as essential a community serv-
Ice as hospitals and highways.
Nearly three-fourths of our
citizens live In urban areas,
which occupy only 2 per cent
Of our land-and If local transit
is to survive and relieve the
congestion OF these cities, II
needs Federal stimulation and
assistance.
Next, this Government is in
the storage and stockpile busi-
ness TO the melancholy tune of
more than sic billion. We must
continue to support farm in
come. but we should not pile
more farm surpluses on top of
the SIS billion we already own.
We must maintain a stockpile
OF strategic materials. but the
S8.5 billion we have acquired
for reasons both good and
bad-is much more than we
need; and we should be en-
powered 10 dispose OF the ex-
cess In ways which will not
cause market disruption.
Finally, our already over
crowded national parks and
recreation areas will have
twice as many visitors 10 years
from now. II we do not plan
today for the future growth
OF these and other great nat
ural assets-not only parks
and forests but wildlife and
wilderness preserves, and water
projects Of all kinds-our chill
dren will be poorer In every
sense Of the word.