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Need Legal Advice?
In our society of complex human relationships and
even more complex laws, everybody needs occasional legal
advice. But the cost, the limited avai lability and even the
"jargon" scare many away. Thc following information
should help alleviate those problcrns.
Greal Dritain.
Free legal advice in Britain is available
through solicitors. The only fee required is for actual
work, rather than advice.
If
the case reaches court, a
bar–
rister
will be appointed free if needed.
The United States.
Legal aid socicties (in most com–
munities) provide free legal defense for those io need.
Consult the pbone book or the local bar association for
the address. Also, the local Economic Opportunity and
Community Action programs, found in over 150 U. S.
communitics, provide free legal services for those in need.
for middle-income families not quali fying for such
free aid, the Lawyer's Referral Services charge $5 for a
a half-hour of consultation. They give referrals to lawyers
specializing in your particular problem, and can help you
compare costs of the various lawyers available.
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Lead Poisoning and Old Paint
In oldcr apartments and houses there is a serious
possibility of death, brain damage, mental unbalance and
grave behavioral problems in small children due to lead
poisoning.
Then danger stems from eating Aaking chips of ex–
terior or interior paint containing lead . T he main victims
are children between 1 and 3 years of age who are prone
to putting objects in their mouths or have the malady
known as "pica' '- the craving for unnatural food. And
what makes thc problem worse is that old paint tends to
taste sweet like candy.
Jf
you live in a house or apartment built prior to 1940
in the U. S. and have small children, be part icularly alert to
this lead poisoning possibility. Safeguard your children by
taking the following actions:
Scrape off loose old paint with a scraper or a steel
bristle brush. Do this to any surfaces on which a child can
chew. Carefully sweep up the scrapings and repaint those
areas with today's safer non-leaded paint. As a very im–
portant preventative measure, begin teaching your toddlers
not to put foreign objects in their mouths.
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lf You Teach Your Youngster to Hunt
If
your boy, or sports-minded girl, has reached such
a state of maturity, dependability and obedience to your
instructions that he can be trusted, he may be ready to go
on a hunting trip witb you. Be sure to follow tbese rules
when teaching your children to hunt:
1. Check your local area to see whether your youngster
must be enrolled in a hunter safcty program before he or
PLAIN TRUTH May 1972
she can receive a hunting license. Sixteen states in the
U. S. and two provinces in Canada require such a program.
lt differs from country to country.
2. Start your youngster off with a small-bore, single–
shot rifle or single-barre! shotgun. Semi-automatic rifles and
shotguns can come later.
3. Before allowing your youngster to actually fire a
gun, first take him through a dry run of loading, uoload–
ing, aiming, firing and ejectir.g.
4. Especially emphasize the importance of keeping
the safety on at al! times until ready to actually fire at game.
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Mechanical Death Traps
Six hundred children under four died from accidental
rnechanical sulfocation in 1969. Even our most innocent
looking modero conveniences - like refrigerators - can
become hideous death traps for small children.
Take the doors off unused refrigerators and any other
box-like objects such as ice chests or sea trunks. Teach
your children
NOT
to play in such possible death traps!
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Eat Shellfish?
Research on commonly caten shellfish - clams,
oystcrs, shrimp, mussels, and scallops - again raises serious
questions concerníng their advisabi lity as human food.
The flesh of shellfish is, of course, a delicacy in many
countrics by social custom. The ecologic role of such
animals as clams and oysters is that of a scavenger. They
actuaHy filter and purify the water they pump through
their gills during their feeding process. The materials they
removc from the water - algae, bacteria, chemicals - are
stored and concentratcd in their body tissues.
A nerve poison called saxitoxin is commonly found
in shel lfish. During the warrn summer months, a species
of saxitoxin-producing plankton is often ingested in Iarge
numbers by many species of shellfish, thus saturating these
species with the nerve poison. According to the
Medica/
IJYodd
News
Magazine
(January
14,
1972), saxitoxin is
"fatal
f
or one in every
12
persons unlucky enough to eat
the contaminated seafood." Saxitoxin acts on the nervous
system to produce paralysis.
With many coastal waters polluted by agricultura!
chcmicals, industrial wastes and by-products, and even
domcstic sewage, the risk to health from eating shellfish
is nothing to take lightly. One safe way to avoid the risk
of contracting typhoid, hepatitis, paralysis and other
diseases would be merely not to eat shellfish.
The principie ís not new. lt's been around for quite
sorne time. Believe it or not, there is actually a dietary Jaw
given in the Bible forbidding eating shellfish - or for
that matter any aquatic creature that does not have fins or
scales. That instruction alone, if acted upon, would prevent
people from taking a risk that medica! research has shown
to be very real.
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