Sixty Years Ago This Week: Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Byron Johnson, CD-2, addressed the Denver Democratic Party’s Monday Forum, saying that he was optimistic about the prospect for world peace after years of mounting tensions around the globe. 

Johnson called himself “an itinerant member” of the staff of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and said that his optimism was based on a “growing understanding among member nations in the U.N. that cooperation is necessary for the avoidance of war.”

“The more prosperous nations are less likely to endanger the peace of the world,” Johnson said. “The economic and social union of groups of nations can lessen areas of disagreement and thus promote peace.”

But Johnson pointed out the severe disparity between rich western countries and the millions in Africa, Asia and South America who “are hungry, not merely for food, but for education, development of resources, transportation and communication facilities. 

Johnson told his fellow Democrats that federal foreign aid spending should be funneled toward education, infrastructure and food production so that in decades to come “people can be helped to help themselves.”

In the previous year Russia had given $1 million toward economic and social development of underdeveloped nations, but India, “despite her own problems, gave more than $2 million to help others and thirteen nations gave more than Russia did,” Johnson said. 

Thirty-Five Years Ago: Rumors were swelling that Colorado Speaker of the House Bev Bledsoe, R-Hugo, had decided to hang up his political hat and not run for re-election. When approached for comment by The Colorado Statesman, Bledsoe immediately dispelled such a notion. 

“As far as I know, I am running in 1988,” he said. “I will make top my mind definitely in February or some time. 

Bledsoe, a 15 year veteran of the Colorado House, said he had received several calls from different media outlets concerning his plans for the next election cycle. 

“I’m a little surprised,” Bledsoe said. “It’s a little early to be talking about this yet. It’s only been nine months since the last election.”

Bledsoe also quashed rumors that longtime friend Cody Pearson was thinking of running for his House seat.

“I don’t think Cody is interested,” Bledsoe said. “He’s my campaign manager. He would have been a good legislator, but I think he’s seen enough of the legislature from being my campaign manager.”

Twenty-Five Years Ago: Gov. Roy Romer signed into law Manitou Springs Republican Rep. Marcy Morrison’s “Neurobiological Mental Illness Coverage” bill (HB 97-1192), which required insurance companies to treat six mental illness the same as other medical problems.

Under the new statute, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar effective disorder, panic disorder, major depressive disorder and specific obsessive disorders were now required to fall under the same health insurance guidelines as other medical issues like broken bones, cancer and other “standard illnesses.”

“The reason,” Morrison said, “if that those six major psychiatric problems are based on biologic disfunction in the human brain, not emotional trauma, as such can be, and are, effectively monitored with medicine and monitoring.”

Laurie Flynn, executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill sent a congratulatory letter to Morrison stating that she was just their kind of ally.

“You have used your legislative acumen to advance legislation that most of your colleagues would have thought impossible to champion effectively,” Flynn wrote.

Rachael Wright is the author of the Captain Savva Mystery series, with degrees in Political Science and History from Colorado Mesa University and is a contributing writer to Colorado Politics and The Gazette.