Ex-Resident Tells Of
(Editor's note: The follow
ing letter, by John Conlon,
formerly of Medford, givet
his views on the role Ameri
cans should play in visiting
foreign lands. It was moti
vated by one of a series of
articles carried in the Mail
Tribune, written by Jeff
Williams of Medford during
a hitch-hiking trip around
the world last summer.)
In one of the back issues of
the Mail Tribune I have just
received, I became quite in
terested in an article written
by Jeff Williams. I grew up in
Medford, although I never
knew Mr. William's, but in
this letter of his relating inci
dents which he had encoun
tered on his hitch-hiking trip
around the world I was shock
ed as to the way he continual
ly compared everything he
had witnessed to the every
day life of our United States.
I am also a 'true blue"
American, as he put it, but in
my travels throughout the
world I have never .found
reason to criticize a people's
way of life.
Since graduation from Med
ford High school in 1954 I
have spent only two months
in the United States. I have
lived with my wife and family
in two foreign countries al
though I have traveled
through many countries, and
at this time I am residing in
the Republic of the Philip
pines. ,
There is one thing which
aggravates me and that is the
American who, when travel
ing in a foreign country, con
tinually compares his sur
roundings to those he is ac
customed to in the U.S.A. By
this not only the prestige of
the nation is lowered, but the
man is losing a valuable
friend, for himself as well as
the free world.
I consider it one of the
greatest pleasures of life to
be able to eat the food of
another country as prepared
in that country, because there
is no other place that the
natural taste and flavor in
the cooking can be experi
enced. '
. A few weeks ago I visited
the British Crown Colony of
Hong Kong, and on this visit
I noted many things which I
have not seen in the United
States and I encountered
many customs which were
somewhat strange to me. ;
Even with all this it never
entered my mind to criticize
the people, not even to my
self. While there I rented a
car and traveled up to ' the
Chinese Communist border.
On this tour I stopped in the
New Territories at a small
village caleld Lok Ma Chow,
this walled town dated back
through the Ming dynasty and
the antiquity bringing fdrth a
beauty which overpowered
the stench and disease which
I noted within the stone walls.
Those people knew ' nothing
else , except poverty; that is
poverty as we look at it, al
though in their own eyes they
are happy.
I noticed nothing strange on
the Communist side of the
border, one large city named
Shum Chen and the rice fields
extending into the mountains.
Coast Guard Crew
Demolishes Mine
Astoria -(UPD-A World War
II marine mine was destroyed
n the beach at nearby Ft.
Stevens yesterday morning by
a Coast Guard, demolition
crew.
The weapon, weighing 400
to 600 pounds, was trucked to
the deserted Ft. Stevens rifle
range during a heavy Pacific
gale after it had spent the
night in Astoria's west end
mooring basin on the deck
of the dredge Silver Moon.
The dredge had "caught" the
mine off North Head, Wash.,
and brought it here for the
Coast Guard to handle.
Hilton Hotel Drive
Nearing $3 Million
Portland -(UPD-Businessmen
striving to raise three million
dollars to assure construction
of a downtown Hilton hotel
here announced yesterday
they had achieved 94 per cent
of their goal with $2,818,400
collected.
Roy Vernstrom, general
chairman of the campaign,
said , the drive headquarters
would remain open for a week
'to collect the remaining funds.
An option on the square block
or downtown property where
" the hotel would be built ex
pires Oct. 31.
ass
HOW
CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE
HEALS
Separating the two countries
and the ideals of Communism
from Democracy was a tall
iron fence paralleling the
Hong Kong side of the Canton
river. The Cantonese railroad
continued to operate between
the city of Kowloon in the
Colony and Canton in Red
China, and strangely enough
the trains were crowded each
day from both directions.
The one thing really out
standingly different in the
people of the Colony and
those of other nations I have
recently visited was the tragic
problem of refugees.- At the
edge of the city of Kowloon
along the barren mountains
leading into Communist Chi
na are miles of seven story
buildings, with each building
housing over 1,000 families,
all preferring near-starvation
to the Communistic : way of
life. The mountains on the
island of Hong Kong were
also swarming with refugees
who have set up their homes
4
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Foreign Living; Ideals on Attitudes
in cardboard shacks along the
terraced hillsides. These are
the people who an American
must know to realize it takes
more than words to win
friends. Thousands of small
children marked for life with
scurvy rashes on their heads
and bodies, and those with
bloated stomachs begging for
a bite to eat. Pictures of old
men and women on the bill
boards of police stations who
were found dead and un
known. This is the dirt and
filth of war that we don't
want in America, this is the
thing Americans should think
about when traveling so they
can know the truth of just
exactly why we live more
prosperously than our neigh
bors. It is not the customs, the
transportation, the clothes,
the food nor the night clubs,
but it is the political and mili
tary situation. People are
basically the same every
where, their needs and wants
are always the same. Surely
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their skin may be different
but they are all of one blood.
I would like to say this:
That a "true blue" American
is not one who vainly portrays
his Americanism and his so
called capitalistic egotisms
throughout the world, but one
who rather wishes to give a
little bit of himself for the
cause of a free world which
at this time is threatened by
those who give nothing, but
take all.
This letter is of course my
opinion and therefore I am
not actually condemning Mr.
Williams, but I cannot stand
to see anything in print for
the . public to read that so
completely shows . the domi
nating American opinion of
an undeveloped people who
are not Americans.-
The people of the world
wherever they may be are
naturally different in certain
ways and respects from us,
but to them we are of a far
greater difference. The more
"V ALL
- V
am
money-sover
. . .
WIEIEIES
we brag about ourselves and
condemn Others the fewer
friends we will have. .
We Americans criticize the
Filipino for being lazy and for
his government being cor
rupt, but actually we do not
look beyond our own pocket
books. The Filipino is not lazy
nor is he behind in the times,
he is simply doing things the
way he knows best.
Not only the Americans but
also the Japanese, the British
and most other great indus
trial nations criticize the more
common people, but they do
not realize the people are
happy in their own way of
life.
In America we would not
be as prosperous as we are to
day if we had not the oppor
tunity to continue in our lives
as we wished and if we had
not been free.
I have also found language
is no real , barrier. I have
many very good friends among
foreign peoples, Portuguese,
' - "I,, j -f
"J9Ii '
5
I flll
Ill
I ! Ill 111
-------
Indonesian, Japanese, Fili
pino, Chinese, to name a few,
and I have taught English con
versation to Japanese students
as Mr. Williams said was the
American practice in Turkey.
Through these friends I have
learned that a smile will make
friends and there is the inter
national language of expres
sion, and signs.
There is an old saying that
rings true in all languages:
"The only way to make a
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friend is to be a friend."
I believe if some of the ideas
of international friendship
which I have stated in this
letter could be tried out by
more Americans abroad this
would be a more peaceful
world in which to live.
I thank you for reading this
letter and with all respect to
you, the Tribune, Mr. Wil
liams and the people of my
home-town, Medford.
John R. Conlon
N-3002 NPO
F.P.O. - -
San Francisco, Calif.
s
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MAIL TRIBUNE. Medford, Oregon, Sunday, October 19. 1958" "3
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