1963 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-. SENATE 25079 Suddenly the future of the migrant se~ms Three-quarters of those under 18 years hac;I are of Mexican origin, with most of them brighter-thanks · to a tl miilion 2-year received no polio shots. speaking only Spanish) . Federal grant to the California Departnient In a single camp in Merced County in 1960 Dr. Jessup selected from the camps teams of Public Health, to be used, without the there were _ 30 hospitalizations for infant of likely young bilingual Mexican men and necessity of matching funds or other strings, diarrhea--with an unrecorded number of women, who were put through a brief and to ease the medical plight of the migrants. deaths-and in other camps the condition intensive health education course by the The grant--based on a bill sponsored by was very nearly endemic. State health department and then sent back New Jersey Senator HARRISON WILLIAMS­ Among all the workers and their families, into the camps. They served not only to came in response to the dedicated but ill­ accident rates were alarmingly high, owing educate and care for their fellows but also financed efforts of a group of young phy­ in great part to overused farm machinery. to help break down the suspicion of out­ sicians within the department and to the Pesticide poisoning always has been a severe siders. prodding of one of them, Dr. Malcolm H. problem. OTHER ASPECTS DESCRIBED Merrill, the fighting chief of the department. While no exact statistics are available, Dr. Other aspects of the demonstration proj­ Leader of the group was Dr. Bruce Jessup, Jessup noted sky-high incidences of skin in­ ects were motorized clinics and night clin­ who gave up a lucrative pediatrics practice fections, respiratory infections, and uncor­ ics-because the workers fear above almost with the Palo Alto Medical Clinic to take rected birth defects. The TB rate was at all else the thought of losing even an hour's on the task of trying to improve health con­ least three times the State average. ditions in migrant labor camps after observ­ work . Special prenatal care programs were set up, as well as sanitation units and visit­ ing in person the horrifying situation there, [From the Medical Tribune, Oct. 7, 1963] particularly among the children. ing nurse services, using Spanish-speaking Dr. Jessup is now doing a similar sort or THREE MD'S AND PILOT PROJECTS OFFER pe·rsonnel wherever possible; job for the Iranian Government for that HEALTH HOPE TO COAST MIGRANTS As Dr. O'Rourke noted, many of these ac­ country's poorer peasants, and his place in BERKELEY, CALIF.-Thanks to the crusading tivities departed from the traditional pre­ the California Department of Public Health efforts of three physicians and to a Federal ventive medicine role of public health serv­ has been taken by Dr. Paul O'Rourke, an­ grant of $1 million, California's migrant crop ices. This fact brought outright opposition, other young, crusading physician, whose title workers may soon shed their unhappy repu­ or, at best, only grudging support, from the is chief of the Farm Workers Health Service. tation as the sickest, least medically cared­ county medical societies. The only solution When Dr. Jessup first took on the job three for group in the country. offered by most societies was a demand that years ago, he found that the proud-and That description-which no one seems to if the State money must be spent on the generally correct--boast of American medi­ have successfully challenged-comes from migrants, it be used to buy them health in­ cine that no man need go without adequate one of the three physicians, Dr. Paul surance. medical care simply failed to cover these O'Rourke, chief of the Farm Workers Health The projects, nevertheless, never lacked forgotten people. Service of the California Department of Pub­ for active participation by individual phy­ For one thing, they are largely made up lic Health. The others are Dr. O'Rourke's sicians, scores. of whom spent night after of members of minority groups that often boss, Dr. Malcolm H. Merrill, State health night at migrant clinics. · suffer prejudice and discrimination in this director, and Dr. Bruce Jessup, Dr. O'Rourke's It was the success of these demonstration country. Half are of Mexican extraction and predecessor and now a medical consultant to programs that brought the $1 million Fed­ speak only Spanish, and 20 percent are Ne­ the Iranian Government. eral grant, to be spent over 2 years. The gro. Twenty percent are of Anglo-Saxon Most Californians have reacted to their funds will be used to spread and augment origin but are the remnants of the Okies and essential seasonal crop workers with feelings the projects already inaugurated and to add Arkies of Grapes of Wrath memory. The that ranged from outright enmity to uneasy such other efforts as sanitation teams, a bi­ rest are Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinos and conscience pangs. Generally, they have lingual statewide directory of health serv­ alcoholic transients. looked the other way, hoping the problem ices, and special prenatal care clinics. For another thing, most of the workers would go away. Dr. Merrill has expressed the hope that the move too fast from crop to crop for any lo­ With rare exceptions the owners of the big, Federal grant will serve as "seed" money to cal effort to alleviate their health conditions corporation-like farms that employ most of stimulate State and county spending. On to 'be meaningful. California's 58 counties the migrants have disclaimed any responsi­ the other hand, it seems more likely to less have widely differing rules, but in general no bility for them, beyond helping to "save" optimistic observers that the funds will serve one has a right to county medical services­ them from labor unions. as another excuse for the counties to duck except in life-threatening situations-short The travels of the migratory workers have the issue. These observers deem it probable of 6 months of residence. made them ineligible for health or welfare that the health problems of the migrants And, finally, most of the migrants are too aid from the counties, which almost uni­ will become a more or less permanent re­ ignorant or frightened to seek what little formly require 6 months of continuous resi­ sponsibility-by default-of the Federal Gov­ medical care is available to them. dence. ernment. SOME DISHEARTENING FACTS When Dr. Jessup surveyed their health An early Jessup survey turned up some dis­ status 3 years ago, he found conditions grim. heartening facts. Among them: They still are mostly unchanged today, but RECESS TO 9 A.M. TOMORROW Most migrant camps were filthy and with­ in such selected counties as Butte, Merced, Mr. HUMPHREY. Mr. President, if out sanitary facilities-despite the fact that and Kern, pilot clinics and demonstration there is no further business to come be­ in many cases they bordered on thriving, projects, set up under the direction of Dr. clean, country communities. Jessup and continued by Dr. O'Rourke, have fore the Senate, I move, under the pre­ Three-quarters of all the mothers came to begun to alleviate many of the worst prob­ vious order, that the Senate stand in term with no prenatal care whatsoever; in lems. For example, in one camp hospitali­ recess until 9 a.m. tomorrow. the remainder it was cursory at best. zations from infant diarrhea dropped from 30 The motion was agreed to; and (at 6 Two-thirds had no family. doctor and had, in 1960 to 1 last year. o'clock and 41 minutes p.mJ the Senate indeed, rarely even seen a physician. The first problems tackled were la.ck of Ninety percent had no health insurance. education and a basic lack of communica­ took a recess, under the previous order, Two-thirds of.the children under 3 had no tion due to the migrants' suspicion of au­ until tomorrow, Thursday, December 19, immunizations of any sort. thority and a language barrier (at least half 1963, at 9 o'clock a.m. EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS Trust Territories Appropriations every action, has again shown us why return he went to work, in his own in­ we respect his fine judgment and secure imitable way, to remedy the sad condi­ EXTENSION OF REMARKS sense of direction. Early in 1961, he tions under which these underprivileged OF visited the trust territories islands, that people were living. are managed by the Department of the Although a study was made by the HON. ROLAND V. LIBONATI Interior, under a-trustee agreement with United Nations, 3 years ago, not one of OF ILLINOIS the United Nations (formerly · adminis­ the other countries of the 14 comprising IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES tered by the Japanese,· si~ce World War this group, evinced any interest in join­ I, after the defeat· of .Germany, who had ing the United States in its contributory Wednesday, December 18, 1963 purchased the scattered islands from benevolence to solve or alleviate the Mr. LIBONATI. Mr. Speaker, our Spain). problems of these 85,000 souls. own Congressman MICHAEL KIRWAN, What he saw there was enough to turn At the time of his visit, $3 million was dominant, earnest, and practical in his a puritanical heart to stone. Upon his appropriated to meet our obligation. 25080 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD- SENATE December 18 'l'hrough argumentative persistence and Kennedy appointed a seven-man -mis­ American-Built Racing Automobiles f ,actual presentation of actual depressive sion, headed by Anthony M. Solomon, a conditions-the Insular Affairs Commit­ State Department official, to survey the Could and Should Lead the World­ tee made it poss~ble for the Appropria­ islands.