European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 19, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes wednesday october 19, 1977 poor using hospitals run by a Washington up most veterans who use veterans administration hospitals do so because of poverty not because the medical care offered is better suited to their needs a congressional committee was told monday. Or. Saul Farber whose special panel took a detailed look at facilities staff and patient care in the a system said if vet Erans had sufficient insurance coverage through a National health scheme to afford civilian medical facilities most a Hospi tals would be unnecessary. Testifying before the Senate veterans affairs subcommittee Farber said Only 3 million veterans 10 per cent of the vet population use a hospitals while 90 per cent rely on other health services available in the  of a care although a health care was initially established to provide prompt top flight care to veterans with service related disabilities Farber said 71 per cent of those using the hospitals have no such disabilities and Only 15 per cent of the a services fall into this special classification. While the special social problems of vet Erans Are unique and require special treat ment he said the medical and surgical problems faced by veterans Are the same As faced by the population As a whole. Farber said the veterans who use the system Are indeed needy. They generally have Low incomes either have no health insurance or have inadequate coverage in relation to their  inefficient for acute care services he said the capacity of no Federal facilities and re sources in the Vicinity of a hospitals was adequate and frequently excessive and in general a facilities Are Duplica Tive and  from a Public policy perspective the a is operating its acute care Hospital system to compensate for the inadequate insurance coverage of the needy 10 per cent of the Veteran  Farber said the findings Are particularly significant when considering How the enactment of further Federal health insurance legislation May affect the acute care role of the a. If a significant fraction of the veterans who now use the a for acute care Are Given sufficient insurance coverage to use Community facilities Many perhaps most May not use a  he said the country As a whole has been Over investing in Hospital facilities and it is the . Taxpayer who is paying for the excess capacity both in a hospitals and in no Federal  plenty of vacancies Oklahoma City s hotel Biltmore i blasted to rubble in a controlled Demoli Tion. As the carefully placed explosives went off the picture was taken by a camera which was mounted on a pole250 feet from the building. The camera was activated by a Remote switch via a1,000-foot line. A photo Dock strike curbed in Louisiana by the associated press the Impact of a 17-Day-old selective Dock strike eased monday with the end of an unauthorized general strike in new or leans that freed 44 strike bound convention Al cargo  dockworkers there responding to orders from the International longshore men s association to confine the strike to Container ship operations the threat that the White House might seek a 80-Day Taft Hartley injunction also receded. Word of compliance by the 3,500 new or leans rebels to orders from Thomas w. Teddy Gleason International president of the Al Cio affiliate who called these elective strike of 50,000 members in Atlantic and Gulf coast ports oct. 1, was followed by the summoning of top Union officials for a new huddle.8,500 Ila members represented included among those directed to meet at 2 . Thursday in bal Harbour Fla.,r were officials of the great lakes District representing 8,500 other Ila members on the lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway along with officers of the deep sea districts. While the great lakes District of the Union has a different contract expiration Date and is currently under contract it has been embroiled in a dispute Over Grain Ope rations. Union action on the great lakes could slam another door to overseas ship Ping. 4 idled ships left the maritime commission said its count of ships idled on the Gulf coast As a result of the strike dropped from 48 sunday night to Only four All Container ships that were trapped by the strike and unable to Transfer cargo. The resultant drop in the total count of strike idled vessels from 104 on three american coasts to 60, was followed by word that withdrawal of Ila pickets sent to the Pacific coast Container piers an action later ruled illegal was having min Imal initial effects. The maritime administration had counted 23 Container ships including 20 for eign vessels caught in the Pacific coast tie up Early monday. Oestrogen will have cancer warning Washington up the food and drug administration said monday it is going ahead with a controversial order to warn women taking oestrogen drugs for menopause because of a possible cancer risk. 48-mile human Chain May form along Florida Beach Cape canaveral Fla. Up promoters Are hoping 64,000 people will turn out near this spaceport saturday to form the world s longest human Chain 48 Miles of people holding hands on Brevard county s beaches. The human Beach Chain will Climax four Days of world record breaking at tempts designed As a tourist and Indus try promotion for the nation s spaceport Community. A group of 10 businessmen and 500 volunteers calling themselves the Madcap mischief makers organized the events. Sponsors Hope to establish several world records for inclusion in the Guin Ness Book of world records. Writer George Plimpton who is Engi Neering the world record attempts will ignite what is believed to be the world s largest firecracker thursday evening. The 6-foot-Long, 700-Pound rocket will be launched from a Small uninhabited Island in the Middle of the Indian River near Titusville. Plimpton dreamed up the reach on the Beach gathering. Guided by radios the Beac goers will be asked to join hands and hang on for five minutes. Sponsors Hope enough people will show up to form a Chain reaching from Cape canaveral southward 48 Miles to Sebas Tian Inlet. Festival officials say 12,000 people Al ready have signed up. Beginning tuesday the estimated 5 Mil lion american women who take oestrogen drugs for menopausal and postmenopausal problems were to be Given a pamphlet when they have the prescription filled. It spells out the dangers and says that the Fra does not believe the drugs have Power to restore a person s youth. Women will be urged to reevaluate the need for Oestrogens with their doctors every six months and to take the lowest dose possible for the shortest  about 22 million prescriptions Are filled for the drugs each year. The biggest seller is pre Marin while others on the Market in clude Hor Monin Estrata Evex menses Emogen and Ogen. Fra commissioner Donald Kennedy told a news conference a Survey of manufacturers shows they will make every Effort to have the warning pamphlets in the hands of druggists this week despite Legal and procedural challenges which have delayed the order. A Federal court earlier this month Over turned objections by the pharmaceutical manufacturers association and the Ameri can College of obstetricians and gynaecologists to delay the requirement and there Are Legal challenges in other Federal courts. Kennedy said the most serious risk is cancer of the lining of the uterus. The risk of such cancer for a woman taking Estro Gens for longer than a year is five to 10 times greater than for a woman who has never taken Oestrogens. And the risk is directly related to the amount and length of time they Are taken. Further women who use Oestrogens after menopause Are about two and one half times As Likely to develop Gall bladder disease requiring  Kennedy said the brochure will say these drugs should not be used to treat simple nervousness and depression during menopause because they have not been shown effective for these purposes and that they also have not been shown effective for keeping the skin soft or for helping women feel younger after  Kennedy noted that it is possible for a woman to take Oestrogens during her entire adult life because they Are also used in birth controls pills. Typical Pill Bill $24 a year Washington a the average american spent $23.80 for prescription medicines in 1973, but the Cost was much higher among the elderly a government Survey shows. The out of pocket expense for prescription drugs Rose sharply from a Low of $9.10 per year for persons under 17 to $61.40 for those 65 or older according to the National health Survey