Long Island railroad
hetic for commuters
Smoke Si;^nal.s, Wednesday, Keb. 5. 1969—7
/Members of controversial cast
Three members of the cast of “Dionysus in 69" and
one of the assistant managers await “booking” and
fingerprinting at Ann Arbor Police headquarters after
their arrests for indecent exposure while performing
their play at the University of Michigan campus. The
New York group pictured include Joan Maclntosk, Ciel
Smith, Richard Schechner and Judith Allen. (AP Wire-
photo)
NEW YORK (AP) — New
York is a great place to visit—
unless you have to visit it five
times a week via the Long Is
land Rail Road.
As railroads go, the Long Is
land is something special. Only
a minor portion of its revenue
comes from freight, and each
day on its 343 miles of track it
hauls a quarter of a million
commuters.
You have to look behind such
figures, however, to get the big
picture.
Long Island passengers,
dubbed Dashing Dans by the
railroad s publicity office are
not dashing that fast these days.
They have slowed down consid
erably since the road pulled out
of bankruptcy two years ago
through its sale by the Pennsyl
vania Rail Road to the state of
New York for $65 million.
In bankruptcy and under the
supervision of a hot railroader
named Thomas H. Goodfellow,
the Long Island spruced up the
morale of passengers and
crews. Trains seemed to run
more nearly on time. Passen
gers could ride in engine cabs
on occasion, borrow umbrellas
on rainy days, choose the color
of their stations. They were
Life at 80
Idleness boring for widow
By LEE LINDER
Associated Press Writer
POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — At
80, the life of Jeanne V. Gutman
is accelerating at rollercoaster
speed. She finds idleness boring.
A widow since she was 59,
Mrs. Gutman has a day for al
most everything; On Wednes
days she helps retarded boys
and girls at the Pennhurst State
School. On Thursdays she con
ducts a nursery class at a Meth
odist church. On Saturdays she
teaches art at a Lutheran
church.
For the Jewish Women s
League, of the Mercy and Truth
Synagogue of Pottstown, of
which she is a former president.
Mrs. Gutman plans parties—“us
ually about six a year —at
nearby Valley Forge Army Hos
pital and the Coatesville Veter
ans Hospital.
In 1962, just past 74, she took
up painting—“People seem to
enjoy my landscapes and works
depicting nature —and has
made 51 sales.
Three years ago, anxious for
a new interest, she started tak
ing violin lessons.
Mrs. Gutman moved to Potts
town three years after her hus
band died in Stroudsburg, Pa.,
where the couple owned a Po
cono Mountains resort hotel.
She quickly leaped into volun
teer work, taking on the nursery
In North Carolina
post first. Through affiliation
with the Pennsylvania Associa
tion for Retarded Children, this
led to Pennhurst where she
teaches speech therapy.
“The youngsters are so appre
ciative, she says. “Whenever
one of them has a birthday, I
bring a cake and order sodas
and we have a party. They real
ly enjoy it.
Mrs. Gutman, born in New
York City, played bit parts in
the theater and silent movies as
a teen ager before her family
called a halt to her career and
sent her to nursing school.
“At that time a girl wasn t
considered respectable if she
performed in plays, she says.
State econiiimy f egisters gam
RALEIGH (AP)—North Caro
lina s economy registered a
small gain in December, contin
uing a pattern of small ups and
downs that has prevailed for
five months.
Economic indicators showing
gains in December from No
vember included bank debits,
non agricultural employment,
average hours in manufacturing
building and loan mortgage
loans, and new car sales while
building permits and truck sales
showed losses.
The Wachovia Bank and Trust
Co. s North Carolina business
index rose 0.7 per cent in De
cember to 184.4. This compared
with 173.7 in December, 1967.
Wachovia economists said the
January gain was “not indica
live of a definite trend in the
state s economy. They said the
economy is expected to contin
Me near the present level until
after the first quarter of this
year.
Bank debits, an indicator of
the amount of checks drawn on
accounts by businesses and in
dividuals totaled $5,562 billion
in December for a 19.6 per cent
gain over November and 28.3
per cent rise above December a
year ago.
The states nonagricultural
employment showed a small in
crease of 0.8 per cent in De
cember over November, rising
from 1,693,800 to 1,681,000. This
was 5.4 per cent higher than
December of 1967.
M anufacturing employment
showed only a slight gain of 499
from November to December
when it reached 699,700. House
hold furniture and textiles
showed gains while tobacco and
food and kindred industries reg
istered declines.
Average weekly hours in man
ufacturing rose from 40.8 hours
in November to 41.3 hours in
December.
The value of building permits
was down slightly from $25.8
million in November to $25.5 in
December and compared with
$29.2 million in December of
1967. However construction for
all of 1968 rose 13.4 per cent
over 1967.
Cash receipts from farm mar
ketings were down again in De
cember. Receipts for all of 1968
totaled $1,183 billion, down 8.9
per cent from the 1967 figure of
$1,299 billion.
The North Carolina Automo
bile Dealers Association report
ed that new car sales rose from
17,166 in November to 18,280 in
December while new truck sales
were down from 4,214 to 4,020 in
the same period.
mm
Streetcar named disaster
A streetcar stands jammed into a
luncheonette after it had been taken
for an unauthorized spin, jumped the
tracks and crashed into the building
in I’liiladelpliia. Police charged James
Wright, 2.'i. vvitli l)urglary, larceny and
()l)cratiiig a motor vcliicle without con-
Hcnl. (AI’ Wirephoto)
even kept advised by loudspealc
ers about the causes of delays.
So they started to forget old
jokes like the one about the
would be suicide who carried a
lunch when he lay down on the
tracks lest he starve to deeath
before the train arrived.
Then the Metropolitan Trans
portation Authority took over
under Dr. William J. Ronan. He
figured he would have remain
ing problems straightened out in
a year or two. But some of his
moves backfired.
New trains ordered are not
yet in service. Maintenance was
cut on old trains, and union men
walked out because they said
the trains weren t safe. Passen
gers compalined they were dirty
and decrepit. There was a
“whiskey rebellion when some
of the trainmen balked because
road officials were seen cock
tailing, while the trainmen
weren t supposed to touch the
stuff at lunch. There were
strikes and slowdowns and de
lays in opening doors and shut
ting doors until I, like others,
began asking fellow travelers,
as a matter of routine, “How
did you make out last night?
Finally there was rebellion.
Passengers began to organize
and one group demanded a ten
point “bill of rights. Another
bunch, after weary delays in a
cold car, refused to offer their
tickets to the conductor. Others
here and there followed suit. A
few got themselves arrested on
that account.
Meantime the road was say
ing that passengers would have
to pay $16 more a month for
commutation tickets if the un
ions current demands were
met. Sixteen a month? That s
more than I used to pay alto
gether for such a ticket, though
the tab now runs to $40.
I suppose I could get away
from it all by joining one of
those car pools that keep form
ing and breaking up. But then,
how would I read my paper, or
make new friends, or kibitz
bridge games, or order a Scotch
in the bar car? It s hard to do
things like that in bumper to
bumper traffic.
Art being
taught fo_
'patients
Philadelphia (AP) — Art
classes in a hospital? It's hap
pening. and it s working. lallBawi
Judy Gallagher, a 22-year-old
graduate of Temple University s
School of Fine Arts, decided
that hospital patients not total
ly disabled should have a hobby
—like painting, or anything
creative.
Agreeing, Moss Rehabilitation
Hospital, one of the nation s
leading private institutions ca
tering to persons crippled by
stroke, heart attack, disease or
accident, gave Jud the job.
“The purpose is to prepare a
handicapped person, soon to go
home where he’ll have lots of
free time, something to do other
than just watching television or
reading, ' said the tall, bouncy
blonde.
“And art is something really
constructive, and fun, too,"
Other hospitals, even nursing
homes, encourage patients to
draw, or knit, primarily as oc
cupational therapy. At Moss,
it's diversional, recreational,
morale-building.
Miss Gallagher's classes, for
an hour or so once or twice, a
week in the hospital's solarium,
also is attended by former Moss
patients. In fact, handicapped
persons are sought out—and en
couraged to come in.
“We re not trying to develop
commercial artists and crafts
men, " she said. “We just hope
that the person who will be
homebound, possibly for many,
many months, could develop
some kind of art interest that
might supplement his income. '
The class began last summer.
More than 50 patients have par
ticipated.
Segal named
publisher of
Gastonia paper
BROWNSVILLE, Tex, (AP) —
D. R. Segal, editorial director
of the Freedom Newspapers in
the Lower Rio Grande Valley,
has been named publisher of the
Gastonia, N.C., Gazette.
The announcement was made
Tuesday by R. C. Hoiles, presi
dent of Freedom Newspapers
Inc. A spokesman for the news
paper group said the appoint
ment was effective immediately.
Sydney
Lewis
visits
the
new
feie*h
Research in card catalog
Whitaker
Library
*
Students
enjoy
facilities
of
modern
structure
«
Examining the selected book
Checking out with Mrs. Moose