Reaction to Story 6. in book Floating off the Page

The title of this article is "Why the Girl Scouts Sing the Blues." It was written in October of 1993. The main dilemma for the Girl Scouts and many other camps and similar organizations is that the American Society for Composers, Authors & Publishers has informed camps nationwide that they must pay a licensed fee to use any of the more than four million copyrighted songs written or published by Ascap's 68,000 members. "Those who sing or play but don't pay, Ascap warns, may be violating the law." The company even warned that they will sue camps and organizations that do not comply. The only song that was mentioned in the article that was not on the list was Kumbaya, however songs that include God Bless America, Edelweiss and Ring Around the Rosie are copyrighted. Ascap warns that if you do not know if the song is part of the copyrighted list, do not sing it. Even the song "Happy Birthday" is included. Ascap believes that if restaurants, bars, clubs and stores already pay fees to use copyrighted music, camps should too, even if they are non-profit.
I am remembering back to when I went to day camp when I was very young and recall sitting in groups or around a campfire and singing popular songs. I would suppose that my camp, which is affiliated with the YMCA, paid a fee to Ascap. I agree with Ascap, even though naturally I at first found it to be a bit strict, I understand that the individuals that write these songs deserve their royalties! They create such popular songs, therefore they should be rewarded a salary without question. It is difficult to explain to children why they cannot sing songs, but I feel that they should be told specifically why and not "walk around the bush" instead. The organizations should just pay the fee so as not be responsible for copyright infringement.