cMSoc D-Statesman, Salem, Ore., Saf Jan. 29, 1955
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It ..War: JLomes ao PacDlfJic loere vvill K
Russia Stepp
War Preparat
ing Up
ions
By WILLIAM L. RYAN
. Associated Press Foreign News Analyst j
THE Soviet Union, perhaps frightened by events in
Asia, seems to be quickening the pace of its prepara
tions for war. That is one of the more likely inferences
which can be drawn from Moscow's open reversal of the
post-Stalin policy of more for the consumer,
x If there is actual fear among the Soviet Communist
leaders that events in China
sooner or later will involve them could build and wait for the ripe
in a major war, the evidence! moment Eventually, if they did
aueht to be forthcoming soon. It move into the China picture.
probably will take the form of
i broad offensive outside Soviet
borders, carried on by its tools
and dupes who make up the vari
v ous branches
of the World
Council of
Peaces.
The Soviet
reversal, an
nounced si
multaneously with the news
that A. L Mi
koyan was re
lieved of his
post as trade
minister, is an
evidence of
i m a
type of Stalinism 'which pre- i has spoken.
zeded the second world war.
It is a sign of weakness be
cause it indicates the Soviet
' Kyon I
Quemoy and Matsu Groups Block Red Invasion Harbors
kK 4 L,TTlE
QUEMOY
TAN OK CUP
they might never have to get out
again. J
But as yet Moscow is unready
for war. That unreadiness stands
out clearly in the enunciation of
its internal policy. From here
on, all major effort in the Soviet
Union is to be concentrated on
production of heavy industry,
with the consumer public taking
whatever is left over. The same
order, one can be sure, now will
ring throughout the European
satellite countries, only recently
launched on their own "new
course" of mollifying the con
sumer public. For the satellites
the reversal will hurt a lot. It
will mean more and more oublic
weakness and not of strength. It bitterness in Eastern Europe.! 7th Fleet Read
clear return, also, to the oui cnange tney must Moscow , rhe United States was closer
to war this week than at any
Ominous Parallels time since the Korean War end-
v The Moscow reversal does not ed 18 months ago.
aDDear to be anything like a The II.S '7th Fleet ud to full
Communist hierarchy does not ; unanimous decision of the hier- j strength with three carriers
dare to sacrifice any of its heavy !archy. Possible some sort of .hastily summoned from the
industry sector, which provides showdown already has taken Philippines stood "at the ready"
the implements of war, to better place in the Kremlin. The tough j to carry out whatever moves
the lot of the public. If the So-j Communists of the Stalin breed, were ordered in the deadly
viet Union's rulers considered evidently under the leadership j island chess game being con
their position strong, they would Qf Party Secretary N. S. Khrush-; ducted from Washington and
CHINA
CMn MATSU. ,
F QUEMOY
y
f
' tADMAtt
V:: : .
0s2 kaotengO
: PEIKANTANGlf
....
QUEMOY I.
Formosa
Strait
NATIONALIST HELD
n COMMUNIST HELD-
MATSU I.
j
. asl Chi na
peichuan
ISLANDS
... - ...
U. S. Would Employ
;'. ' f ... .. ..... i
Strength
Its Total
By J. 31. ROBERTS .
Associated Eress News Analyst ' .
THE United States moved this week to test the idea
that a position of strength can prevent a war between
the forces of democracy and the forces of communism. 1.
The United State's must defend an "island line".in.the
Far Pacific, President Eisenhower told an enthusiastic
Congress, which includes Formosa, the outlyingl'escadores,
and such other Chinese Nation-
QUEMOY and Little Quemoy can bring under fir shipping MATSU and its neighboring Nationalist-held islands sit astrid
attempting to leave the Communist port of Amoy. the mouth of the arnportant harbor of Foochow.
Deadly Island Chess Game Continues
make some attempt to deliver
on the promises made to the
public so freely; after the death
of Stalin.
Fear Indicated
At the same time, it is an indi
V
chev, may have won out andjPeiping.
now need to parade a few scape
goats before the public to take
the blame for the state of the
consumer industries, j
If this is the case and there
cation of fear. The Soviet Union is evidence to support it the
cannot be. disinterested in the; parallels with the 1930s seem
little war raging over the islands ominous. War threatened the So
off Red China's coast. Should the viet Union then. Stalin, fearful
Red Chinese overstep the bounds of things to come, savagely got
and involve themselves in actual ;rid of any breath of .possible op-
war with the United States,! position while he marked time
Moscow would be gravely con-1 and made deals on the interna
cerned. It has a mutual assist- tional front to give him scope'
ance treaty with Peiping requir-: for full-blast preparation. . Will
ins the Soviets to go to the aid Soviet history once again repeat ress in 1949 and lost thousands
of the Red Chinese in the event! itself? I of men in the futile attempt It
of attack from the outside, and
Moscow is already on record
with the view that the United
States alone is the aggressor in
the issue of Formosa.
That does not mean the Mos-
Obvious Value
A crucial question fdr the im
mediate future appeared to be
the status of two island groups
held by the Nationalist Chinese
with obvious Value in hamper'
ing an invasion of Formosa.
Quemoy is one, strategically
placed with its neighbor Little
Quemoy in the mouth of Amoy
Harbor and almost directly op
posite the southern tip of For
Imosa. The Red Chinese tried to
capture this heavily armed fort-
T
i 4 i ' "
5s.::x.X'
: - '
POWERFUL PUNCH The aircraft Carrier Essex, now In For
mosan waters', launches a Banshee fighter-bomber.
FLIERS: Dilemma Decided
by midweek had made it fairly
clear the U.S. would not permit
any of its citizens to make the
trip to China.
One factor behind this posi
tion is the tense situation in For-
7"r -lTw.;:.t ri.uri" r "c.u . . 1r.tt.""lbreak out between Americans
uui tui evemuu ui6u oi n Americans neia in mnese
between the Communist and jails. j
Cold Connivance I j '
The Dronasanda strategists of
cow hierarchy considers that So-! Red china had the U.S. State
viet involvement in a major war j Department wrestling with two
is just around the corner, even:unpieasant alternatives early
though the internal policy re-j this week on the question of
non-Communist worlds is inevl
table.
Moscow Waits
Moscow's Communist hier
Should the State Department
was here last September that the'
"vest pocket" war in the Pacific'
started with the Reds shower
ing Quemoy with shells from
artillery positions on Amoy. Na
tionalist batteries have vigor
ously returned the fire.
Foochow Blocked
The other stumbling block to
Red invasion is pie Matsu group,
composed of four island clusters
directly opposite the mainland
port of Foochow. This area is
opposite the, northern tip of For
mosa. . .1
Any invasion of Formosa
would be severely handicapped
without the use of port facilities
and the Chinese. Another ele
ment is the bombastic speech by
Chinese Communist Premier
they wanted to make the trip
archy may well view as danger- , and permit the Reds to make
ous the events involving Red more propaganda hay on the
China and the United States. ; prisoner issue or should they
But it would want to pick the, turn down the applicants and
time and manner of its own in-'.leave themselves open to Com
volvement. That could take.munist charges of cruel disre-
much timeMt would be, no sur-;gard of human emotions?
grant passports to those who al-!chou made just
ready have positively indicated pMt FinhftwPr-, message
on U.S. intentions in the Pacific
was delivered to Congress, in
wfuch Chou rejected any thought
prise if Moscow were basing cal
-culations on a strictly two-way
clash between the United States
and Red China which might bog
both powers down for a long
time. The Soviet Communists
Sidelights
Charles Yaklin of Mt Clem
ens, Mich., didn't mind so much
floating around Lake St. Clair
on an ice floe for two hours after
the chunk he was fishing from
broke away from the shore, but
it really peeved him that two
fellow fishermen simply yelled
"goodbye" as he started drifting
away. But Yaklin wasn't the
only one with a gripe. "What
really makes me mad," said his
wife, "is that he didn't bother to
let me know he was safe after
police rescued him he just went
back to fishing." .
Lindsay x Paynter doesn't
'claim the result was exactly as
he expected, but his performance
with a gun left little to be de
sired. A man entered his store
at Winchester, Ky ordered beer.
then pulled a pistol and grabbed
the cash box. As he fled to a
waiting car, Paynter grabbed a
gun and fired one shot The bul
let knocked the cash box out of
the robber's hand. ;
O There are all sorts of reasons
for calling off basketball games,
but Maine came ud with a new
one this week. The scheduled
contest between Union High and
the North Haven high school
squad from a Penobscot Bay
island 10 miles from the main
land was postponed because
high seas made boat travel im
possible. The Illinois State Senate
eliminated "for reasons of ef
ficiency and economy" four of
its committees this week. Among
them: the Committee on Effi-
ciency and Economy.
Although the early indications
were that the State Department
would not stand in the way of
visits by relatives, developments
Dates
Tuesday, Feb. 1 i
Atomic war exercise "Blue
Bolt" starts at Ft Hood, Tex.
Thursday, Feb. 3 i
Council of World Affairs
meets at Dallas. '
of a cease-fire and reaffirmed
Communist determination to
conquer the Chinese Nationalist
stronghold.
The offer to the families was
transmitted early this month to
Dag Hammarskjold, United Na
tions secretary-general, who went
to Peking on an official mission
to obtain the freedom of the im
prisoned airmen.
He did not obtain their release,
However, toward the close of his
last session with Chou, the Com
munist Premier said the pris'
oners were in good health and
handed over pictures of some of
the men. He added that relatives
who wished to visit them could
obtain Communist visas.
the United States will go into
action was earlier employed to
keep the Communists away from
Chiang Kai-shek's entire string
of off-shore islands. The idea was
to keep the Reds guessing.
Bluff Called
Last week the Communists
called this bluff and invaded the
tiny island of Yikiangshan, using
an impressive amount of power
in the attack including effective
air and naval bombardment. Yi
kiangshan is, within artillery
range of the Tachens and some
200 miles north of Formosa.
Since Eisenhower did not spe
cifically name either Quemoy or
Matsu as inside the line of
alist positions along the China
coast as are necessary to., that
end. .
The Tachens were not consid
ered necessary, it became obvi
ous at once. Quemoy was listed
as important, although there was
some doubt
among stu
dents of mili
tary strategy
of whether
this would be
made to stick
in the face of
determined
Red Chinese
attack. But
the nation
was dead seri
ous about
Formosa, and
ULLU
Robert
continuing the only going .wa&mX.
in the world. -, i , ;
Also gone was part oI-thV ideaT -that
the Reds should be kept: X
completely in the dark as to just-"
what islands' the United States
would fight for. Fonnos4e.
came the ,key. If "movg
made elsewhere; they would
metjor not met according to 3
timates of the value oi -their.-
objectives to ' the strategifTcpn,;
cepts of maintaining the island -
barrier including 'Formosa,: : ;
Okinawa, Japan, the Philippines.
The nation, to do this, had de-";
cided io run the calculated risk; "
of war. The calculation was-that X
it would' not come. ' . w.
O ? -. Russian Policy
' There was the recognized
danger that Russia, finding' ttSJSZZZ
it was up to the Reds whether self more and more barred from
tney wanted to attack it at the, the type of expansion made
expense of an all-out war
This time, it was made clear,
possible by the aftermaths of
World War IL might try to push
mere would te no handcuffs on China into a conflict with the
American commanders, ,no sane- United States. It is fundamental
tuaries, no padlocks, on - atom Russian policy to encourage
bomb storage doors. The United j such situations, if she thinks she
States proclaimed itself pre-ican escape direct involvement,
pared to carry out the idea of so that more situations can be.
Secretary Dulles that, if attack created from which she can hope
must be met, it must be met to profit. . .
with a margin of power larger No softening of the' Peipine
than that thrown in by the line was noted immdiatelv
at Amoy and Foochow. However,
with Nationalist guns emplated
at the harbor mouths, the value
of the staging areas is complete
ly nullified. .
In his message to Congress
this week, President Eisenhower
did not specify whether these
islands would be defended by
the 7th Fleet In restating the
American determination to pro
tect Formosa and the Pescadores,
he 'simply said this included
"closely related localities" which
the Reds might use for an attack
on Formosa.
This technique of refraining
from the precise definition of the
line at which the armed force of
American defense it appears 'forces
ll&eiy Ulcil iuici UMiiuiauug
the Tachens and other islands
the U.S. obviously will not de
fendthe Reds will again put
this country's intentions to the
test by starting the attempt to
clear the harbor entrances of
their two important ports.
enemy.
Policy Changed
. Gone were parts of two poli
cies to which the Eisenhower!
administration had paid its re-
was that the Chiang Kaihek I w
after the American action.
Broadcasts said the Reds still in
tended to' take Formosa. But
Communist reaction is always
slow in major, circumstances,
and American observers were
VETERANS: Changes Due
FARMERS: Decline Ended
rlTtff III Y-25SOH .7 1
Great Decade Ahead 1
Most of the difficult postwar
adjustment for agriculture that
began four years ago has been
completed and American farmers
face a great decade ahead.
That is the down-to-earth pre
diction of Agriculture Secretary
Benson who says, "The U.S. farm
income has about stopped its
postwar decline.'
In his first appearance before
the new Congress, Benson told
the Senate Agriculture Commit
tee, "We are in a period of com
parative stability."
He predicted that the prices
farmers get may be expected to
average close to 1954 levels
while the prices farmers must
pay probably will not change
much in the year ahead.
In his flattest statement on the
Americas
"WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?"
Troubled Future
The fitfully bubbling kettle of
Central American friction was
back in the lap of the Organiza
tion of American States this
week. -
The five-man peace commit
tee the OAS hurriedly cus
patched to troubled Costa Rica
two weeks ago managed to
squelch the fighting for the time
being, but no one was willing to
predict how long things would
remain relatively quiet.
Costa Rica . appealed to the
OAS for aid at the start of the
rebellion against President Jose
Figueres, charging neighboring
Nicaraguan President Anas-
tasio Somoza had trained and
equipped the insurgents.
The OAS sent aerial observers
and the peace committee and the
United States sent Costa Rica
four fighter planes, on OAS rec
ommendation. However, Somoza
received 25 Mustang fighters last
week a purchase from Sweden
and announced early this week
the first of them were in the air.
-What effect the presence of
this fighter force far surpass
subject yet, Benson promised
that cotton prices will be sup
ported by the government at the
same 90 per cent of parity as
last year.
The Agriculture Department
had been expected to set cotton
price props at that level but as
yet hasn't taken any official ac
tion.
The department also reported
that a postwar, rush by city folks
with spare cash to buy farms as
insurance against inflation seems
to have subsided.
Heavy buying by such invest
ors has been called a big factor
in sharp increases in farm land
values, particularly after the
Korean War. Since then, there
has been a tendency for land
values to level off in some an
and to decline in others.
In a report on the farm real
estate market, the department
said values of the nation's farm
land increased 1 per cent be
tween last July and November.
While prices strengthened in the
central corn belt, they drifted
lower in most other states.
The department said land
values reached new peaks m
Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania,
Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware
and Maryland. Biggest declines
during the year were recorded
in the Rocky Mountain and Pa
cific Coast states and in Ken
tucky and Maine.
on Formosa should bei 2 - . .
kept constantly ready for attack aime.Y DUl not
on the mainland as a threat to r man fL
wnu'ieareu me unuea oiaies
deter the Communists from fur
ther military adventures like
was setting up a firecracker in
kv. .v:-u lit.
that in Korea. The new project""5 ,Y, v
was a cease-fire between Red would blow e.-top off the
would prevent either side from? 17 1
Tachens it would be subject to
Fast Action Expected ;
Congress ' started work this
week on a bill which would re
vise part of the administration's
recent directive ending the ac
crual of some veterans benefits
after the last day of this month.
Hearings were held in the
House on a bill authored by Rep.
Teague of Texas, Democratic
chairman of the House Veterans
Affairs Committee, which would
allow men who are in service on
Jan. 31 to continue accumulating
post-service schooling rights be
yond that date.
The rate of accumulation is
V days. of school for each day
m service. The Eisenhower di
rective had the effect of cutting
this off after the last day of
January.
Teague s measure is ticketed
for fast action, and is expected
to be a forerunner of additional
legislation designed to expand
benefits for veterans of peace
time service. The course of these
measures through the congres
sional mill, however, is not like
ly to be as smooth as the indi
cated future of the committee
chairman's bill.
The whole issue poses a new
problem for Congress because,
except for a few short intervals,
this country has never before
14
drafted men except when there
was actual fighting. . j
There is some sentiment for
completely revoking the Eisen
hower directive. Rep. Edith
Nourse Rogers (R-Mass) com
mittee chairman in .the last
Congress, holds that .as long, as
the government continues draft
ing young men it should main
tain its wartime scale of veter
ans' benefits.
Other committee members,
however, feel that men. who don
uniforms only for - peacetime
duty should not get the pre
f erred treatment accorded vet
erans of a shooting war. They
point out that previous wartime
benefits have always had a cut-
off.date. a .
Quote
President Eisenhower,
speaking of the Red Chinese
in his message to Congress
on the i Formosa . question:
"Their offensive military in
tent has been flaunted to the
whole world by words and
by deeds. Just as they cre
ated the situation, so -they
can end it if they so choose."
In Short. . .
Announced: By the Soviet
Union, the end of its state of war
with both East and West Ger
many. The move was inter
preted as probably aimed at ob
structing ratification of the
agreement to rearm West Ger
many. i. '
; Dissolved: The Japanese Diet
(parliament) in preparation for
a general election expected at
the end of next month.
Rescued: Seven Navy airmen
after 52 perilous hours in a tiny
raft I on the j Pacific after they
were forced to ditch their plane
- . . on nignt uum Awajuua w
ut rZT Johnston Island.
would have remained to be seen. ( mi Rights Rntrvtd.APNtwsitatuTt)
-.y t-i .. -.N- V'Li''.'- v A
' IT USED
TO BE "THE
HIGH COST
LIVING
Red attack, and that such an at
tack would lead to open war. .
- But President Eisenhower and
Secretary Dulles had established
reputations of being slow to an
swer provocation. Self defense
would be the role against Red
interference, until a pattern of
intent on war was established. -Then
the lid would be off any
way, and the gauntlet picked
up. Firecracker incidents; strch
as the isolated shooting down of
a plane flying cover, or of indi-
vidual attacks on ships by"
Red planes, would be defended
against as best possible and then
ignored politically. , ;
The Line Drawn
The whole attitude was being
taken in an effort to forestall.
any possible miscalculation on
the part of the Reds as to what
they could get away with. It -was
born of the idea that -if
Germany had expected British
and American intervention ' in .
the last two world wars she
would never have launched
them, that if Russia . had ex--,
pected Allied intervention in, ;
Korea she would not have given s--the
word for that adventure. ,
It .was the extension of an
idea presented by Dulles long .1
ago: Militarily, it envisages no
more than was contemplated in ,., ,
the writing of the American-Nationalist
defense pact which was
presented for Senate ratifica- T t
tion before ,the Reds Jnvaded, J,t1
Yikiangshan. . .
People
THE HIGH COST OF SURVIVAL
Victim of Peace
"He was a hero to everyone
but, himself.?
That's the epitaph, supplied by
a policeman who once- arrested
him, for an American Indian hero
of World War U found dead near
Sacaton, Ariju, this week. The
examining doctor's verdict on
the cause of death: overexposure
to freezing weather and too
much drink. -
The victim of peacetime glory
was Ira Hayes, one of the Ma
rines On Iwo Jima immortalized
in the famous picture of the ML
Surabachi flag-raising.
.The 30-year-old Pima Indian"
was never able to settle down to t
a job" after the war ended. He
waa frnin1 on fThirnvn's sVul row
once, wandering drunk and in- .
coherent He had many chances ,
for steady work, but he said that
when things started looking, ..-,
brighter he would get that
"cravinz for whiskv and foul UD." .
"We hit the beach at Iwo "with :
250 men in my company, Hayes
once recaUed, "and left with 27)'
a month and a half later. -
"I still think of those things
all the time.'