European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 23, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Arm Landers the stars and stripes Page 11 letters dear Ann Landers i believe that the proliferation of drugs is the major health prob Lem in the United states today. It will claim More lives than any War we have Ever fought. There is an immediate cure if the president the Congress and every governor of every state has the guts to do it. I refer to what happened in China in 1949.1 am enclosing a letter to the editor that appeared in the press enter prise in Riverside Calif. A Radical solution perhaps we could learn a lesson from the chinese. They solved their drug problem overnight. Once the most drug Ridden country on Earth China in 1949 rounded up All her drug dealers and shot them. Then she rounded up All the addicts tossed them into hospitals army Barracks prisons etc., and they had to go through withdrawal As Best they could. They were Given one Chance to learn a Trade stay off drugs and go to work. If they failed they were shot. Before you say this is too Barbaric for America ask yourself is what we have on our streets better it is my firm belief that the drug addicts in the United states should be dealt with the same Way they were dealt with in China. Your column has a very Large readership Ann. Maybe just maybe the president or some other highly placed government official will read this and say Why not we be tried everything  it could save millions of lives billions of dollars and everyone would be a lot happier. Let s give it a Chance. A California Reader dear California i am Well aware that drug abuse is a major threat to our Way of life but i would hate to live in a country where people were put to death on the basis of accusations. America is a proud and respected nation because it is a democracy where every person is assumed innocent until proven guilty. Our entire judicial system is built on this concept. Shooting suspects no matter How horrible the crime would be unthinkable. When i was in the people s Republic of China in 1974, we left our hotel doors unlocked and our wallets and jewelry on the Dresser. Nothing was Ever touched. We were mightily impressed by the honesty of the chinese people. Later we Learned that for Many years the punishment for stealing in China was to chop off a hand. Such punishment would surely be a Strong deter rent in any country but would you like to see it done in America granted the drug problem is horrendous but shoot ing suspected drug dealers is not the answer. We must do a far better Job of educating our children High school is much too late about the Way drugs trash lives. More Over our government must accelerate the setting up and staffing of treatment centers where addicts who want to get clean can go and receive the help they need. Our country s most valuable natural resource is its Young people. We Are losing thousands every Day to Street drugs. The toll is heavy and the hour is late. I Hope somebody High up in Washington reads this. To urge Young people to just say no is a Good idea but it is not enough. Los Angeles times Syndicate columnist Landers welcomes your letters. You can write to her in care of the stars and stripes Apo 09211, . Forces readers protest no Check return policy i am writing in reference to the article "1st of Mili tary Bank fee increases  i have had an account at the Heidelberg shopping Center Branch since 1981, therefore i have seen several changes made every time another Bank took Over the contract. Several changes were mentioned some justified. However the policy of the Bank keeping cancelled checks should not be implemented for several reasons. I need the cancelled checks for my personal records. Even the Bank makes mistakes and i need the proof of my financial transactions in the event the Bank s statement is different from my records. Cancelled checks Are helpful in keeping Good records and Finan Cial family planning. Additionally there Are times when proof is needed of payment. I should not have to waste time going to the Bank paying for a copy of the Check which i own in the first place then return Home. I realize that some Banks in the states keep the cancelled checks but in the states one has several Banks to choose from. I fail to understand How this action can save Money or operating time. . Gillham Schwet Zingen West Germany this is a difficult one to take. We Purchase our checks. We Are the rightful owners of them not the Bank. I Hope there will be Many More outcries against this new policy. Then if i should want a copy of any of my cancelled checks there will be a $ 1 charge in the first place i do not want a copy i want the returned cancelled Check. Anyone can make a copy of a Check or of anything that fits on a Sheet 9f paper for 10 or 20 cents so the proposed charge is outrageous. What about those of us who keep files of All checks for permanent records for irs and other Pur poses after we move then what Chance do we have to obtain such copies of checks i Trust merchants Bank will scrap this idea it would be a disservice to every customer not to return our cancelled checks. I find no other fault with the services of the new Bank since american express is no longer Here. But please merchants give us Back our cancelled checks. Name withheld Gellhausen West Germany. I Don t remember being asked if i thought this was a Good idea or for any input at All. I was told this was not a Bank policy but a Dod directive. I spoke with the Liaison office and was told while i could file a letter of protest it was unlikely that anything could come of it and besides they had t had any complaints about it. Not surprising since i first Learned of it this month i have had two Banks in America try this photocopy service and non returning of cancelled checks. I actively disliked the system. But unlike Here i was Given the option of taking this system or sticking with cancelled checks. If you need a photocopy of your Check it takes up to six weeks As your request goes to Frankfurt not your local Bank. They Only do the front Side of the Check. Companies like Sears want both sides of the cancelled checks when you have any dispute with them. So it becomes a special request and More charges. Also i be had the experience of sending my Check to the United states having it cashed but no Merchan Dise. In this Case i am Able to Tell when it was cashed by whom the Date and am Able to copy it for 10 cents. The photocopies my stateside Bank made Aren t even the same size As a Check they Are about half the size. Part of Good Check balancing and management is to Check those returned cancelled checks for forgery altered amounts mistakes and Normal Clearing procedures. I guess what bothers me is that there is no Choice. If i were in the states i would have a Choice of Banks to choose from. If one did t want to give me this service of returning my cancelled checks i could go to another Bank. What Are the options Here Why can t we have an option to have or not have this  i always feel that someone makes these decisions who never has to live with the results. When will the customer whose life is affected by these services get a say in what happens to them does anyone else feel As Happy about this change Jean y. Kartchner Ramstein a West Germany editor s note Yvonne Wise manager Public affairs merchants National Bank and Trust company Community banking replies Check safekeeping has been fully operational at selected Community Banks in Germany and the United kingdom for years to the Complete satisfaction of customers. They Are pleased because the system works their checks Are safely kept by the Bank with easy Quick retrieval in the event a copy is required. They have also found that it relieves Bank staff from time consuming manual efforts which keep them in the Back room sorting checks Matching them with statements and preparing them for mailing. Check safekeeping is Auto mated and centralized freeing tellers and customer service representatives to be out front serving the customer. Admittedly when the system was introduced conscientious record keepers were reluctant to give up their checks. Merchants was sensitive to this and purposely issued checks with duplicate slips to customers during the transition. In place of cancelled checks receipts and duplicate Check slips can be stapled to paid Bills and the Check Book Ledger balanced against entries on the Bank statement. A department of defense study of test Banks in the United kingdom showed that requests for Check copies front and Back averaged four per month. A recent Tele phone poll of German branches revealed that requests Are now running one or two per month All of which Are honoured within 72 hours. Automation has changed our world. As we move into greater automation of financial institutions with More real time account updates for deposits and withdrawals there is less dependency on the use of paper based transactions such As checks or Deposit slips. In some areas on line terminals for debit voucher purchases at retail facilities Are being used which has caused a dra Matic decrease in the use of checks. Check safekeeping is the Way of the future for Community Banks around the world just As it already is with hundreds of stateside Banks. Merchants Community Bank is dedicated to Automa Tion wherever it can alleviate manual operations which keeps our employees away from our customers. Pen pals i want pen pals from All Over the world. My hobbles Are playing chess listening to music and cooking. I am a 42-year-old dressmaker. I am deaf and a Mother of two sons but am not married now. Marita Valencia co Pat n. Jaleco 313 Rivera St Marisol Village Angeles City Philippines please publish my name in your pen pal column. I am 23 years old. My hobbies Are playing chess cooking and listening to music. Charle malign n. Valencia co Pat n. Jaleco 313 Rivera St Marisol Village Angeles City Philippines i would like pen pals. My hobbies Are swim Ming dancing judo and karate. I am 55 years old and a Divorcee. I have four grown up children and five grandchildren. I play Pool snooker darts and 10-pin Bowling. I collect coins Stamps postcards and patches. Lynn Marie Jones 111 Sycamore court Pendleton Salford. 6 Manchester m6 5es England i would like a pen pal. My hobbies Are hiking read ing professional books and magazines and cooking filipino dishes. I am 51 years old and a Public schools District supervisor. 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