Matter of Fact
if - if - if -
Baghdad, Iraq. - These are
breathless times, but this re
porter cannot remember any
purely politi
cal situation
more breath
less than the
one nere in
Iraq. It lies in
one man's
power to In
sure the vic
tory or cause
the defeat of
1 r
JouDb AIsod ",c new com
munist drive into the Arab
lands. Which will he do? On
ly he can say.
But even if no one else can
foretell the choice of Iraq's
new revolutionary leader,
Brig. Abdel Karim Kassem, it
is at least possible to foretell
the consequences of his
choice.
If Kassem finally accepts
the role the Communists have
allotted to him the role of
the Kremlin's Nuri . Pasha -the
consequences will be very
serious indeed. The first ef-
, f ects will appear in Syria,
where the Communists are al
ready growing . daily bolder
and more defiant of Gamal
Abdel Nasser. But in the end,
the Lebanon and. Jordan and
Egypt herself and the coun
tries of the Arabian peninsula
and the Arab lands in North
Africa will also be explosive
ly affected.
AT the present stage of Ar
ab development, in short,
the trend in all the Arab
lands will be deformed and
twisted if Kassem makes the
Iraqi choice in favor of the
Communists. Gamal Abdel
Nasser himself is not strong
enough to prevent this result.
For Nasser is too much the
prisoner of his own past deal
ings with the Kremlin to de
fend the n o n - Communist
Arab nationalism, which1 he
really believes in, against the
impact of a wrong choice by
Kassem.
' But what if Kassem makes
the other choice, as this re
porter things more probable?
That is the really exciting
question. And the best answer
is that the Iraqi revolution
will then have a good chance
of being remembered as the
dawn of sanity in Arab af
fairs. -
' The reason for this Is rather
simple. " The ' essential ' point
about the Iraqi revolution is
that it shattered the founda
tions of the Western policy in
the Arab lands and of Nas
ser's policy too. The old West
ern policy was deeply influ-
By Joseph Alsep
enced by Britain's economic
vulnerability. It was there
fore founded on the principle
of maintaining positions of
strength, in the form of pro
Western governments. These
were in turn expected to pro
tect Britain's and the West's
Middle Eastern oil jugular.
THERE is no use arguing
any longer about whether
the Western policy might
have been made to work, by
greater courage and adroit
ness in Washington. The fact
is that the Western policy of
positions of strength was de
feated, for good and all, when
the old regime . in Iraq was
bloodily wiped out. Further
more, the Iraqi revolution has
raised . an . obvious question
about the necessity for this
defeated policy; for the revo
lutionary government here
has most conspicuously re
frained from nationalizing the
Iraq Petroleum company.
The shattered foundations
of the Western policy are, so
to say, lying about in the
open for all the world to see
The shattered foundations of
Nasser's policy are not so
easy .to. see. The shattered
foundations of Nasser's policy
are not so easy to observe, but
the collapse has occurred all
the same.
The mere promotion of
Arab nationalism, the mere
expulsion of foreign influenc
es from the Middle East, were
not the real foundations of
Nassers' policy. Nasser's pol
icy was squarely founded on
the claim to be Arab national
ism's' unique, all-deciding
leader. All or nothing was the
rule. Other Arabs were called
upon to acknowledge Nasser's
unchallenged authority, or
they were venomously de
nounced as traitors to' the
Arab nation. "I am Arab Un
ion," was Nasser s version of
Louis XIV's famous remark
about the state. '
'I the . western policy may
- have been. . impractical
from the .outset, but so was
Nasser's. It was always pre
dictable that if Nasser became
emperor of pan-Arabia the
next morning, he would start
losing provinces from his em
pire only a few mornings la
ter. The Arab lands are too
various. They are too differ
entiated by local interests and
habits. They could never have
been successfully ruled by an
Egyptian dictator without
great military force at his dis
posal.
The Iraqi revolution , has
now. returned a rude answer
Chicago School Fire Toll At 91;
City Prays Others Can Survive
Chicago -(UPD- The death
toll in Chicago's school fire
climbed to 91 Friday night,
hours after 70 of the victims
from Our Lady of the Angels
school were buried in crisp,
cold December weather,
Services for 12 more of the
children were to be held yes
terday. Three Roman Catholic
nuns who died with their
charges in Monday's blaze and
five other children were bur
ied Thursday,
to Nasser s assertion, "I am
Arab Union." Brig. Kassem
earnestly desires the most in
timate Arab cooperation, but
he also insists, as he laconical
ly remarked to me, that
"Baghdad is the capital of Ir-
aq." And while it was won
derfully easy for Nasser to
whack away at the old re
gime in Iraq, as a parcel of
traitors to Arab unity, whack
ing at Kassem is quite another
problem.
XTAbbER has publicly ac-
knowledged as much. For
the first time, he has aban
doned his former claim of
unique leadership and author
ity. For the first time, he has
publicly acknowledged that
all the Arab states must de
velop in their own way, with
in the broader framework of
"Arab brotherhood." Charac
teristically, he has also self
righteously denied that he ev
er made the now-abandoned
claim anyway.
.'In these circumstances,
there is a chance for a wholly
new start here in the Middle
East. The old Western policy
and the old Nasser policy,
which clashed so sharply with
one another, have both been
defeated. The debris can
therefore be cleared away.
An effort can begin to work
out new relationships, both
between the Arab states and
between the Arab states and
the West.
A hard-headed re-examination
of the West's relations
with Nasser himself is the
first requirement for a sens
ible new start. Another is an
effort, sustained and not
damp-handed and ever eager,
to ease Kassem's choice in
Iraq. By these means, if if if
-Kassem makes the right
choice, progress towards Mid
dle Eastern stability and san
ity is at last possible.
Copyright 1958 New York
Herald Tribune Inc.
Ucn ....
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Medford'i Bargain Center
Sixth and Central
Attention of the heartsick
city shifted to the city's hospi
tals where 12 youngsters and
one nun remained on the criti
cal list, and prayers were: of
fered that the delayed death
Friday night of Victor Jaca
bellis, 9, might be the last in
the overwhelming tragedy.',
A solemn requiem Mass was
celebrated by Chicago's Arch
bishop Albert G. Meyer at a
National Guard armory where
18 girls and nine boys rested
in white and gold coffins. Sep
arate funeral services were
sung at numerous parish
churches throughout the city
for many of the . remaining
children.
Spellman Assists
Francis Cardinal Spellman
of New York assisted at the
Mass held in the temporary
"cathedral," chosen because
no church in the city was
large enough to hold the vic
tims, their relatives and
mourners.
About 7,000 persons were
at the armory, and another 2,
000 gathered later at the Holy
Innocents Shrine of Queen of
Booby Trapping
Turns Out To Be
Officer's Booboo
Seattle, Wash. v -UPD- The
King County Sheriffs office
yesterday put out a cancella
tion order on a bulletin ask
ing officers in the Western
states to watch two cars which
were reported to , be booby
trapped.
' Harold Wieland, chief of de
tectives, said the story origi
nated from a "Washington
state patrol bulletin 'of May,
1956. At that time three burg
lary suspects were reported to
have wired their cars so a
charge of dynamite would ex
plode if anyone else tried to
open the doors, i
' However, the case was
cleared up satisfactorily more
than two years ago, Wieland
said. . .
He explained that a success
sion of errors resulted in a
bulletin going out on the po
lice teletype network which
maicaiea we case was a cur
rent one.
Assuming
He said a police officer
from Medina, Wash., was rid
ing i with a "police sergeant
from nearby Bellevue. The
Medina officer saw the old in
formation listed on the Belle
vue police board. Assuming
the case was a current one, he
notified the King County sher
iff's office which, put the bul
letin out today. .
When the error was discov
ered, a cancellation order was
put out on the police network
immediately Wieland said. '
Port of Umatilla
May Face Paying
's Fees
Attorney
Pendleton-flJPD-The Port, of
Umatilla may . have to , pay
$15,000 in attorney's iees in
a land condemnation case in
stigated by the port. . .;. .' .
An interlocutory, judgment
of $15,000 was entered Friday
in. circuit court here by Cir
cuit Judge William M. Wells.
'Attorneys John F. Kilken
ny and John H. Kottkamt of
Pendleton, P. W. Mahoney of
Heppner and Charles L. Pow
ell were seeking the fee set
by the court. They were attor
neys for defendants R. W. and
Elsie Richmond, owners of the
land.
For Development '.
An original suit filed by
the port commission wanted
the land condemned for devel
opment purposes but . Judge
Wells ruled that the port was
seeking to condemn land far
in excess of its needs.
. The Oregon supreme court
reversed that decision , and
sent the case back to Morrow
county for a land appraisal.
A jury ruled the land was
worth $60,000.'The port had
originally offered $56,000 for
it. ' -.
Not Yet Decided
The commission has not yet
decided whether it will pur
chase the land at that price.
The area is located along the
Columbia river near . Coye
Springs Landing.
REJECTION SLIP :
Rutland. Vt-IPD-After Rut
land City aldermen, suggested
that Rutland Town selectmen
set up a committee to inves
tigate annexation they receiv
ed a two rjaragraoh reply. The
first paragraph acknowledged
receiving the suggestion. The
second paragraph, read, "We
feel we want no part of your
proposal and refuse to appoint
such a committee.';.
TOUGHEST TASK
Oklahoma City-nJPD-What is
the hardest task a governor
has? "Saying No,' " says
Oklahoma's Gov. . .. Raymond
Gary..- . " ....
Heaven cemetery where 21 of
the victims were brought, for
final burial.
There, as gusty winds blew
bitterly, Bishop' Raymond P.
Hillinger offered a final pray
er over the coffins and weep
ing relatives huddled together
for comfort.'
One bereaved father was
denied the comforting release
of tears. Stanley Burda, 37,
had undergone an eye opera
tion Monday, the same day his
daughter; Beverly, 13, was
killed in the fire.
Doctors" had warned him
that excrutiating pain and pos
sible damage would accom
pany any tears he might shed
at the funeral, and Burda
struggled to obey the warn
ing. Sodliers Cry
A short distance away were
the newly turned graves of
the three nuns and a statue of
the smiling Christ surrounded
by the figures of three little
children. Inscribed on the base
of the statue were Christ's
words "Suffer the little chil
dren to come unto Me and for
bid them not, for of such is
the kingdom of God."
Mourners contained their
grief during the requiem
Mass, but at the close, as Na
tional Guardsmen escorted
the tiny coffins and families
out, tears began to flow pro
fusely. Three women required first
aid, fathers wept openly, and
several National Guardsmen
were forced to leave their
posts because, as their com
mander put it, the combat vet
erans of World War II and the
Korean war "just couldn't
take it." .
Neuberger Urges
That State Match
Medical Grant
Portland -4UPD- Sen. Rich
ard L. Neuberger (D-Ore.),
said Friday Oregon would be
losing a golden opportunity to
become one of the great medi
cal centers of the nation if it
failed to match a $1,296,000
grant from the National Insti
tutes of Health. ...
Neuberger told the faculty
of the University of Oregon
medical school that "I virtual
ly pledged our honor when I
told officials of NTH that our
state would put up its share of
these funds for . construction
of a medical research building
at the medical school."
He said that if Oregon's
government failed to fulfill its
part of the bargain "we shall
never have such a chance
again."
Neuberger said . Oregon
would get the $1,296,000 out
of a total federal appropria
tion of only 30 million dol
lars for the entire United
States for medical research fa
cilities. The junior senator said he
planned to get in touch per
sonally with Gov.-elect Mark
Hatfield again as well as with
leaders of the Legislature's
Ways and Means committee if
Oregon matching funds are
not appropriated by the time
he visits the state during next
April's Easter recess of Con
gress. . , :
ALWAYS SUNNY
It's always sunny clothes
drying weather, with the help
of an automatic gas dryer to
give clothes a better-than-out-doors
freshness and fragrance.
w
RESIGNS Will Harridge
has resigned as president
of the American League, to
take effect as soon as a sue
cessor is named.
ANGLING FOR BUSINESS
Nyack, N.Y. -(DPD-. Orange
and Rockland Utilities, Inc., of
Nyack, has gone into the busi
ness of servicing 800-watt
power units installed in vend
ing machines which dispense
...... live fishing worms.. The
machines, illuminated and re
frigerated, sell the worms for
50 cents a dozen. One of the
"wormatics" sold 3,000 night
crawlers during a recent
week end.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS ' '
Topeka, Kansas-dJPD-It took
police to assure a pinball play
er he could return the next
day to collect on the 112 free
games he had just won at a
tavern's legal closing time.'
MAIL TRIIUNt, Medferd,.OTef.., Sunder, Became t. 13 1 f
WHAT-THEY 1 AY
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ASK AN EXPERT ;.
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the, Gas Appliance Manufac
turers association. '
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