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Wednesday, July 30,1986/The BattaUon/Page 5
Health care
spending at
record high
WASHINGTON <AP) —
Health care »pend mg consumed
$425 billion last year, the highest
level ever and equivalent to 10.7
percent of all goods and services
produced by the U S. economy,
thegovernment said Tuesday.
Tne annual report released by
the Health and Human Services
Department showed that spend
ing on health care remained on
its historical upward track in
1985, but at a significantly slower
pace than in past years
The 10.7 percent of gross na
tional product devoted to health
care was the highest on record
and compared with 10.3 percent
in 1984 and only 5.9 percent in
1965
Health expenditures in 1985
were up only 8.9 percent from
I984's >390.2 billion, the second
C m a row that the increase was
w the double-digit levels of
the previous two decades
South Africa turns down
appeal to free Mandela
PRETORIA. South Africa (AP) —
President P.W. Botha said Tuesday
his government would prefer eco
nomic sanctions to “national suicide”
and rejected a plea by Britain’s for
eign secretary lor the unconditional
release of Nelson Mandela
At the end of Sir Geoffrey Howe’s
one-week peace mission to southern
Africa. Botha said Mandela would
stay jailed and Mandela’s African
National Congress would stay out
lawed until it renounced violence
and purged the black guerrilla orga
nization of what Botha said were
communist leaders.
Howe said m a separate news con
ference, after a one-hour meeting
with Botha, that peaceful dialogue
was not possible unless Mandela and
the ANC could participate freely.
“The responses I’ve received have
not yet enabled me to proclaim that I
have made the progress I would
have liked,” Howe said
His mission, on behalf of the 12-
nation European Common Market,
included visits with black leaders of
neighboring countries and moderate
opposition leaders in South Africa.
Some of South Africa's most
prominent black activists spurned
mm They accused Britain of seek
ing to delay further international
moves toward sanctions against Bot
ha's government
Howe said his proposals for open
ing dialogue ‘'oner a realistic and
fair alternative to violence and eco
nomic warfare. It would offer the
possibility of substantial and tangible
progress without which further mea
sures against South Africa are likely
to be taken in one form or another
in the next few months.”
The only new South African pro
posal mentioned by Botha was an of
fer to meet with leaden of other
southern African countries and of
West Europe to discuss regional
problems
He said he would discuss South
Africa's domestic political issues if
other leaden would discuss internal
problems of their countries.
Botha reiterated his contention
that sanctions would hurt neighbor
ing countries more than his own.
He said he told Howe that the
West, if bent on punishing South Af
rica, should take similar measures
S ’ st all countries where racial and
c discrimination exist.
“I can never commit suicide by ac
cepting threats and prescriptions
from outside forces, ana hand South
Africa over to communist forces in
disguise,” he said
I hope this hysterical outcry of
certain Western countries against
South Africa will soon pass," Botha
said. “I don’t believe in sanctions. ...
But if we are forced until our backs
are against the wall, we will have no
alternative but to stand up in self-re
spect and say to the world: 'You
won’t force South Africans to com
mit national suicide ’ ”
Botha agreed with Howe that his
government holds the key to pursu
ing peaceful political change, but he
said there were enou “authentic’’
black leaders to deal with.
U.S. trade deficit called ‘dangerous’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal
Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said
Tuesday that a soaring trade deficit
has put the United States in a “diffi
cult and dangerous situation" and
could, if not corrected, topple the
country into a recession.
The chairman of the central bank
told the House Banking Committee
that he is not now forecasting the
start of another recession But he
said the trade deficit, which hit a re
cord $148 5 billion last year, is one
of the main problems that needs to
be dealt with to keep the SW-year
economic expansion alive
Volcker repeated a plea he made
last week before the Senate Banking
Committee for America’s major tra
ding partners in Japan and Western
Europe to do more to stimulate their
growth rates in order to expand
markets for U.S. products and thus
narrow the trade imbalance
“We live in a much more complex
world than even a few years ago. ’ he
said. “Our economic fortunes are to
a considerable extent dependent on
the strength of growth abroad "
Volcker said the trade deficit had
shed the country's overall debt
| Id by foreigners up at a rapid pace
as dollars to pay for imported goods
flowed into tne hands of foreign in
vestors.
This foreign capital has helped
the United States finance its huge
federal budget deficit, but Volcker
said this situation can not be sus
tained forever and that time to deal
pu
nel
World Briefs
Texas man vyants to get Titanic artifacts
AUSTIN (AP) — An Abilene
oilman who made unsuccessful
searches for Noah's Ark and the
Loch Ness monster says he now
plans to retrieve artifacts from
the sunken Titanic.
Jack Grimm, 61. of Grimm Oil
Co. said he will join the French
navy next summer in a submarine
visit to the Titanic. But officials at
the Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution in Massachusetts said
they have not heard of any
Frenchplans to visit the wreck.
Dr. Robert Ballard, a recent
expedition’s chief scientist, has
urged explorers to leave the Ti
tanic and its artifacts as a memo
rial to the 1,513 killed in the cata
strophic accident. And Woods
Hole officials have said they
would not disclose the specific
coordinates of wreckage to
Gnmm or other explorers.
Farmers, truckers Join to fight drought
(AP) — Cattlemen cheered a
mile-long train of free Indiana
hay Tuesday in dried-out South
Carolina, and Georgia has pro
posed emergency measures it the
Southeast's worst drought in a
century continues
Farmers across the country
have donated hay to feed cattle in
the drought region, and railroads
and trucking companies have do
nated their services to ship it.
“I’ve never seen as many peo
ple wanting to help their fellow
man ...’’ said John Trotman, Ala
bama director of the Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation
Service. “This reminds me of
World War II.. . . patriotism and
people banding together ”
Recent thunderstorms have
eased the drought slightly in
parts of the Southeast
Stock market posts drop for 2nd day
NEW YORK (AP) — The slock
market gave up more ground
Tuesday
At the close of trading, the
Dow Jones average of 30 indus
trial stocks stood at 1766.87,
down 7.03 points. Declining is
sues outnumbered gainers by
about a 2-to-1 margin at the New
York Stock Exchange
Throughout the day the Dow
index hi
tween levels above and below the
break-even point.
Analysts said many traders
who weren’t selling moved to the
sidelines, stunned by the previous
day's 36.14-point plunge in the
closely watched inoex. Monday’s
drop was the seventh largest
point loss ever and its biggest
since M took a record 61.87-point
drop on July 7.
with the problem is running out.
The Fed chairman said the giant
trade deficit has been the mam drag
on economic growth for the past two
vears.
“The longer that persists, the
more difficult and dangerous situa
tion we are in,” he said. “Our finan
cial market becomes more and more
hostage to the continuing flow of
from abroad ”
I Reagan administration has
tried to fight the trade deficit by
pushing the value of the dollar lower
against foreign currencies. A weaker
dollar is expected to discourage im
ports by making them more expen
sive and lower the price of U.S.
goods on foreign markets.
Volcker saidthis strategy will help
Jenco
but won’t be able to correct the prob
lem unless foreign governments
push for faster growth of their econ
omies ,
The Federal Reserve, working to
keep the American recovery going,
has three tunes this year cut a key
bank lending rate in an effort to
push interest rates lower and stimu
late the economy.
Growth this year has been far be
low expectations The economy, as
measured by the gross national
product, expanded at an annual rate
of just 1.1 percent from April
through June, the slowest pace since
the end of the last recession
Volcker refused to say whether
the Fed was considering a fourth cut
in its discount rate.
(continued from page I)
Associated Press in Damascus, Syria.
Jacobson's message said for the
Reagan administration to negotiate
for the release of the remaining
Americans or “our release will be
death."
Jenco also thanked Said for "last
minute counsel" before his release,
and added: “The small crucifix
Ahab gave me was a great comfort
during those final hours.”
Still addressing the captors, he
said of the other three hostages
“Please let them know I will be a per
sonal letter to their loved ones. Since
(neither) I nor Terry or David or
Tom knew that I was to be released,
1 did not have chance to hug and kiss
them and to bid them farewell.’’
Americans still missing are Terry
A. Anderson. 38. of Lorain. Ohio,
Policies
chief Middle East correspondent of
The Associated Press; Jacobsen. 55,
director of the American University
Hospital in Beirut; Thomas Suther
land. 55. of Fort Goliins. Colo., the
university’s acting dean of agricul
ture; and William Buckley. 58, of
Medford. Mass a U.S. Embassy po
litical officer.
Islamic Jihad, the extremist Shiite
group that claimed responsibility for
all the kidnappings, said Oct. 4 that
Buckley was killed in retaliation for
what it called U.S. involvement in an
Israeli air strike on the Palestine Lib
eration Organization headquarters
in Tunisia. Buckley's body was not
found.
Ten relatives arrived in West Ger
many on Monday to greet the priest.
Two more arrived later to accom
pany him to Rome and London, and
then back hor
>mj^
Jones index had fluctuated be
ITT finds musician’s unpublished songs
origi
nal, unpublished songs written by
noted American composer Aaron
Copland while still a teen-ager
have been discovered at the Uni
versity of Texas, the school an
nounced Tuesday
The songs, written by Copland
when he was 17, were found in a
collection of uncatalogued manu
scripts. the university said
Karl Korte, a music'composi
tion professor at U1, said the
songs were written before Co
pland began his years of formal
studv. He said the songs are “ex
tremely precocious for someone
17 years old.”
Helen Tackett, UT spokeswo
man. said Copland, now 85, and
his publisher had granted UT
permission to give the three com
positions their premier perfor
mance.
(continued from page I)
Ortega said, “When any state re
jects or ignores international law it
strengthens the tendency to replace
law by the law of thejungle.”
The World Court, known for
mally as the International Court of
{ ustice, is the judicial arm of the
.’nited Nations. It has no enforce
ment powers and depends on volun
tary compliance with its rulings
The Reagan administration con
tends that Nicaragua is becoming a
base for the Soviet Union and a
threat to Central American security
Ortega told a new conference that
Nicaragua would continue to defend
itself in the face of U.S. threats and
intervention. But he offered to enter
into peace talks immediately to work
out a deal under which the United
States would stop its intervention
and Nicaragua would guarantee the
security of neighboring states which
felt threatened by Nicaragua.
Walters repeated the U.S. position
that it is ready to enter into talks with
Nicaragua it the Sandinistas will
suit talks with the Contras.
Ortega's speech drew warm ap
plause from the Security Council
gallery, which was full. A U.S. diplo
mat said Nicaragua received tickets
for 100 gallery seats.
Walters said. “Daniel Ortega
found in the United States a pulpit
from which to speak, an audience
which listened to him and freedom
to attack this country, things which
would be denied to any foreigner in
Nicaragua who did not like the poli
cies of the Nicaraguan government."
Walters said thousands of Cuban
advisers were in Nicaragua Ortega
said Cuban military instructors num
bered 500 but the number was di
minishing as Nicaraguans took over
the Cubans' functions.
Shuttle
(continued from pegel)
that M was anywhere near stable.”
said flight director John Cox.
The cabin's tumbling: would have
made it impossible for the astronauts
to escape, he said
Astronaut Storey Musgrave said
most members of the astronaut
corps still would like to have some
son of bail-out system for the’ shut
tle. “but I can't say that it's justified.”
He said a bail-out system for use
below 50,000 feet during gliding
flight would have only limited appli
cation and that whether developing
such a system is worth the expense
and added weight “is a program
matic (management) decision "
Overmeyer, who retired after two
shuttle flights, said he doesn't be
lieve a shuttle escape system is prac
tical.
“You’re covered over such a short
period of time, the benefit doesn't
justify the weight and the expense.”
shuttle, and officials say privately
that a decision is expected in the fall
“I expect we will nave some son of
escape system,” said one official who
asked not to be named “But how
elaborate it is is the big question A
lot will depend on what we can af
ford ”
NASA engineers have investi
gated possible escape systems for the
Al Louviere, a NASA engineer
who led a team that investigated es
cape systems, said a simple bail-out
system ready for resumption of
shuttle flights in 1988 would cost “in
the tens of millions " More elaborate tion of “Uh oh?"
systems could cost hundreds of mil
lions and take five years to develop,
he said.
A recording of conversation
among the four astronauts who rode
on Challenger's flight deck also was
released Monday It revealed for the
first tune that pilot Mike Smith may
have been aware there was a prob
lem.
At the moment of the explosion
the tape captured Smith's exclama-
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