Bill Will Change Fluoride Voting

A bill designed to clarify future referenda on fluoridation was signed into law this week by Gov. Peabody '42. Under the new law, referenda will read "shall the fluoridation of the public water supply ... be continued?" rather than "discontinued," as it was in the past.

Mrs. Raymond A. Bauer, who headed the unsuccessful drive to retain fluoridation last November, said it would "simplify voting so that everyone will know what they're voting for." She explained that there was confusion, in the last rerendum because "people had to vote 'Yes' if they meant 'No' and 'No' if they meant 'Yes.'"

The bill was submitted by State Rep. Levin H. Campbell '48 (R-Cambridge) at the request of the Cambridge Citizens' Committee for Dental Health, the group headed by Mrs. Bauer.

In three referenda in the past ten years, Cambridge has alternately adopted and rejected fluoridation. Observers expect the new law to raise the pro-fluoridation vote if another referendum is hold.