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(Then - as now, only there's an Albatross in the living room)

(Note: This is a repost from July 7th in answer to several inquiries as to just how long this thing has been going on.)

Continuing the history of Public Healthcare, I ran across this panel discussion and Q&A from December 4,1941, featuring Dr. SS. Goldwater, City Hospital commissioner for New York, Margaret Bourke-White, the photographer/social chronicler. Howard Cumley from the Association of Manufacturers, and Eleanor Roosevelt, first Lady.

The panel, from the radio program "America's Town Hall of The Air" centered mostly on the state of health of most Americans. Seems we were a rather flabby bunch in 1941, judging from the large number of rejects from the Draft Board (remember, this is 3 days before Pearl Harbor and the start of our involvement in World War 2). But the subject was also health care for everyone, regardless of ability to pay.

The first half of the program (a little over 30 minutes) is given over to statements by the panel, but the second half is a question and answer period from members of the audience.

Goldwater skirts the issue, not saying if he is for a Universal Healthcare plan or not. Bourke-White is a little more forthcoming (at around 40 minutes):

Question: Do you feel Socialized Medicine would benefit the American public?

Bourke-White: Yes, I feel it would. I know there are many objections, sometimes from private physicians who don't wish to lose their practice. Sometimes from private hospitals who don't wish to lose their clients. But I see no reason why some form, at least from Medical Insurance or Hospitalization Insurance can't be put into effect. And people who can afford to go to their own physician, people who can afford to go to their own hospitals, still can continue to do so. The people who can't possibly afford treatment or perhaps could afford it at one time, can still be taken care of.

Roosevelt is staunchly for some form of Universal Healthcare, but in lieu of the fact that war was literally days away, it was an idea that had to be shelved until it was over.

By then of course, the albatross had grown.

(The bread was okay, but the ads were priceless and were on every bus, subway, construction site and billboard in New York in 1964)

One of the perqs of having a sound archive is the effortless ability to pull things at random, on a whim, and just listen. As someone pointed out to me, there's history all over the place, and no matter how inconsequential any particular day seems to be, something is always happening.

Case in point - I decided to randomly grab a news broadcast from February 20, and the first one to fall into my hands was from 1964. Not an earth shattering day in the big scheme of things, but a day where events happened.

This newscast, an hourly from ABC Radio starts off with the Civil War in Cyrpus, the ongoing dispute between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots with the British Army stuck somewhere in the middle. This particular day also sees a ceasefire, which is declared as the broadcast is happening. The next item deals with the border dispute between Algeria and Morocco.. It had been a hotbed of violence and unrest since the late 1950's and a key element in the continuing Independence movement on the African continent. Then things turn domestic with the New Hampshire Republican Primaries between Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller. The broadcast winds up with a piece on the newly installed monarch, King Constantine of Greece.

Just a typical day - like all typical days. And all typical days are loaded with history.

The broadcast is run complete and in its entirety as it was broadcast with no edits. I say that because in 1964 Cigarette advertising was still going strong and the jingles are catchy. This one is for Camels. If you find it offensive, it's only the first 45 seconds of the newscast, so you can forward through it.