“Some local and state officials want to put the kibosh on trick-or-treating this year,” writes Jospeh Hallinan in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“They are worried that emergency-response teams, already fatigued from chasing down reports of anthrax and other contaminants, will be overwhelmed on Halloween.”

” ‘We’re working on the answer to the question, “Do we have a Halloween?” ‘ says Stephen C. Robertson, director of the Indianapolis Emergency Management division.

“The recent anthrax contaminations so far have been limited to several major East Coast media and government buildings, including Senate offices in Washington. But around the nation, thousands more sightings of white powder have been triggering alarms that turn out to be false — although not before they run emergency workers ragged. Peering ahead 12 days to Halloween, some crisis experts envision parents dialing 911 at the first sight of powdered sugar in their children’s trick-or-treat bags.”

“No one has the authority to kill a holiday outright, but some local leaders plan to appeal to homeowners not to answer their doors when goblins come knocking. Others are asking parents to keep their children from going door to door in search of treats.”

“This week, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee decided to ask parents statewide to have their kids limit Halloween celebrations to parties. “Our system is already overwhelmed right now with testing suspicious substances,” says Ann Wright, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Health.”

“Federal officials are pondering whether to make a similar recommendation. ‘I know that the subject is in the air, and that people are considering it,’ says Campbell Gardett, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”