4 Sunday, February 8, 1959
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.,
MEDFORDt
JTBIBUHE
"Everyone lc Southern Oregon
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Flight 'o Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Feb. 8. 1949. (Tuesday)
Officials report city and
county roads in poor condi
tion as a result of snow and
cold which has plagued the
area recently. ;
Ashland citizens postpone
recall election plans for three
city council seats.
20 YEARS AGO
Feb. 8. 1939 (Wednesday)
The Southern Oregon Hu
mane society undertakes a
subscription campaign to raise
a $1,000 reward fund for in
formation leading to the ar
rest of any dog poisoner. .
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "Press
dispatches report another
groom who fainted during1 the
wedding ceremony, and was
ruthlessly revived."
30. YEARS AGO
Feb. 8, 1929 (Friday)
The Legislature receives a
bill to allow counties the
right to regulate country
dances.
A "moral wave" sweeps
Klamath county, causing clos
ure of poker games.
40 YEARS AGO
Feb. 8. 1919 (Saturday)
Five pertaining to Rogue
river fish are among the 525
bills introduced so far at the
Legislature.
Women's "suffrage is defeat
ed in the senate by a single
vote.
SO YEARS AGO
Feb. 8, 1909 (Monday)
A shower of Rogue river
fruit greets an excursion
group from Spokane, Wash.,
here. .
Observers believe the Cra
ter Lake road bill faces rug
eed riffles in its course
through the Legislature.
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct' is superior;
seven or eight is excellent; five or
six is good.
1. A British pound has how
many shillings?
2. In baseball, "dusting
'em off" means kibitizing
from the grandstand, brush
ing off home plate, or pitch
ing at the batter's head?
3. What linemen on an
American football team are
prohibited from receiving a
forward pass?
4. Is a merganser a meas
uring rod, an antitrust suit,
or a duck? .
5. Did Napoleon Bonaparte
die on the island of Corsica,
Elba, St. Helena, or Devil's
Island?
6. What ''little girl in a
nursery story found herself
in a house inhabited by three
bears?
7. A cappella choirs have no
musical accompaniment; true
or false?
8. the United States gov
ernment's stock of gold bul
lion is kept in which of these
states, New York, Kentucky,
Colorado?
9. Is linseed oil made from
the seeds of wheat, flax buck
wheat or soybeans?
1. Twenty. 2. Pitching at
batter's head. 3. All but the
ends. 4. Duck. 5. St. Helena.
6. Goldilocks. 7. True. 8. Ken
tucky. 9. Flax.
Objectionable
Most Americans are patriotic, and completely
dedicated to the welfare of their nation. They
abhor this nation s enemies. And many of them
cannot understand why anyone would object to
taking- a so-called "loyalty oath."
They, in their patriotic fervor, would be will
ing to raise their right hands and swear that they
never have, do not now, and never will, advocate
the forceful or illegal overthrow of the U.S. gov
ernment. And they can't understand why anyone else
would.
-
JET'S look at it this way: '
If they were applying for a job, and one
of the conditions of employment was that they
swear they have never beaten a small child to
death, and will never do so, they'd probably be
mad as hops.
; "What kind of a stinking bum do you think
I am?" would be their rejoinder, as they stalked
off in search of a job where they' could hold up
their heads in pride and dignity.
IT IS FOR very similar reasons that the teaching
profession feels discriminated against when
asked to take such a negative "loyalty" oath.
They have no objection to a "positive" oath
one in which they declare they will uphold and
support the constitution and the laws and the
ideals of the nation.
: One of the most lucid explanations of this
situation wTe have seen was in a recent editorial
in the Eugene Register-Guard, which said.:
, "The idea of the loyalty oath is a direct slap at the
intellectual community. It is a hang-over from the
'Know-Nothingism' that swept America before the
Civil War and that recurs periodically in the form of
Ku Kluxism or McCarthyism. The target, in all cases,
is the educated man.
"We do not think it can be shown that a loyalty
oath has ever, ever, been used to trap a spy. Any spy
worth his rubles will sign anything if his signature
will help him in his dirty business. Those who refuse
to sign have been persons of principle who objected
" to being singled out as unduly suspect because of their
professions. If refusal to sign is taken as an admission
" of guilt-a "Fifth Amendment Communist" kind of
thinking-are we to believe that any really subversive
person would refuse?"
. '
'T'HE president of Reed college, Richard H. Sul-
livan, recently announced the college would
turn down a $3,349 grant from the federal gov
ernment for scholarships, because of the fact that
beneficiaries must take a form of the "negative"
and discriminatory loyalty oath.
Dr. Sullivan objected
teachers and students as
gets under my skin.
lhe objections can
points: - -
1. it is useless. . .
2. It is a gratuitous insult to" ah honorable
profession.
That is why teachers object to it, and we
think they're right. E.A.
Shoe Bill
The proposed shoe
Medford's Wilbur Gardner, and sponsored by
this district's Congressman Charles O. Porter, is
making sort of a "splash" in some circles.
In the January issue of the trade magazine,
Leather and Shoes, one full page is devoted to
discussing the measure and its implications for
the shoe industry, and another half-column tells
of reaction by the Boot and Shoe Workers union.
THE bill was drawn up at Porter's request by
the federal trade commission, and specifies
that the major parts of shoes be labeled with the
materials they are made of. It was Gardner's idea,
based on years of experience as a shoe-repairman,
that people are getting gypped when they pay
for what they think is leather, and it turns out to
be paper, and not repairable.
. It is evident that the measure will have some
opposition.
THE Boot and Shoe Workers, for instance, base
, . their opposition "on the grounds that it would
be legislation based on misunderstanding of the
shoe industry's problems and it could do the con
sumer serious injustice."
It suggested that the shoe industry establish
its own code of shoe standards, and grant ap
proved labels only to footwear which qualified
by meeting these standards.
Rubber footwear manufacturers also are op
posed, and claim they should not be covered, as
rubber footwear generally is non-repairable.
Some of the "technical" arguments set forth
sound as though they may be reasonable, but the
basic idea of the bill to protect consumers by
letting them know what they're getting is a
good one, and should be established in law. E.A.
Leave 'Em Alone
For several years now; Oregon has had attrac
tive auto license plates, with sort of orangy-yellow
letters and figures on a blue background.. They
are clean-looking, dignified,' and satisfactoiy.
If the legislature passes a bill now under con
sideration, however, the Oregon licenses of the
future will be cluttered up with a slogan. It. will
say "Scenic Wonderland," unless a statewide
contest among school students doesn't bring forth
a "better" one.
Let's calm down, back off and try again
friends..
Let's save our money, save the good looks of
our license plates, and save the time of the stu
dents who have better things to do.E.A.
i
Loyalty Oath
because singling out
people not to be trusted
be summed up m two
Opposition
labeling bill, the idea of
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial
for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the
paper; in fact the contrary is often the case.
The Mexican Hoax
To the Editor: Last Sun
day's M.T. editorial comment
ing on the outmoding of not-too-long-ago
prideful high
ways, brought to mind an in
cident on our way back from
a Christmas visit with family
and friends to the north.
Wheeling down the broad
new free-ways that make the
mountain ranges of only pass
ing notice, we got quite a
shock coming through Grants
Pass to the arched concrete
bridge spanning the Rogue
river. It seemed so narrow,
of near traffic bottle-neck
size. It was indeed hard to
believe that it was the. big
new two-lane plus affair we
helped celebrate ji 1926.
'Give 'em hell Gen. Smedley
Butler was there to do the
orating and cut the ribbon for
waiting traffic, preceded by
music and dancing on the
big new bridge.
; But there was much more
to it than all that. It had been
grape-vined around that a
delegation of big-wigs would
arrive from somewhere to
highlight the gala bridge
opening. Sure enough, here
they came, a big black shiny
seven-p assenger car, top
down with six swarthy mili
tary men therein. At least
they wore the green and
black Mexican army uni
forms resplendent in gold
braid, especially the royal
high general at the wheel.
U.S.A. and Mexican colors
floated grandly from each
side of the shiny brass bor
dered windshield. They
grandly returned the smiling
greetings from the cheering
people.
Word was rushed to the
waiting welcoming commit
tee at the chamber of com
merce who' got outside just
in time . to see them roll
grandly by, smiling and
waving. A hasty welcoming
committee was alerted at the
court house but the visitors
had vanished, never were
seen there again.
It was told later that it was
no other than the one and
only, resourceful, ever ready
Heine Fluhrer and boon com
panions, in a pay-off for a
fast-one Grants Pass boosters
pulled on Medford, whatever
that was. It is said they got
away homeward via the old
stage road, Dry-d i g g i n s,
Bloody-run, Hunters ferry,
Rock Point and Blackwell
hill. I can vouch for what I
saw, but how true the details
may be, I tell 'em the same
as was told to me.
F. J. Clifford
Route 2, Box 200F
Central Point, Ore.
Insurance Costs
To the Editor: Why is it
that so many people just sit
by and let these insurance
companies drain us of all our
money?
Auto insurance is a racket
and a good one for the insur
ance companies.
Does anyone know what
happens to the insurance dol
lar? Salesman,, 10 to 30 per
cent, office 10 per cent,
claims department 10 per
cent, legal expense 5 per
cent. It seems to me that the
small amount they pay out
on claims don't add up to
very much alongside what
they take from the people
every six months. Those in
surance companies must be
making money hand over fist.
They say you should carry
insurance, then if you have
too many accidents they, can
cel your insurance right now.
My two boys have to pay
90 some dollars apiece every
six months, for what? Nei
ther of them have had any
kind of an accident.
I guess we are paying for
the people that do have
wrecks.
No one has a right on the
street anymore. Now it's a
privilege. Why should it be
the people pay taxes for
roads?
As long as everyone sits by
and does nothing the insur
ance companies are getting
rich and each year they hike
up the price to where com
mon working people can't af
ford to pay it.
They talk about people in
other countries that are
forced to do this and that.
What about this country? It's
getting worse all the time.
First thing you know we
will have to have a permit
to eat.
Mrs. Alyce Veach
Route 1, Box 52
Eagle Point, Ore.
The "Egg Racket"
To the Editor: In the Trib
une for Thursday, Feb. 5, was
the following news item:
Food, Drug Administration
Investigating Egg Racket." It
occurred to me that it might
be of value to inform our
homemakers of my experience
with the egg racket.
During the war I worked
for a while in a plant in Port
land that canned poultry. One
day the foreman asked for
two volunteers to work that
afternoon in the egg packing
room. I volunteered.
Each worker stood before
a table on which was a box
of infertile turkey eggs from
a hatchery. These eggs had
been held in the hatchery
from 10 to 18 days at incuba
tion temperature, the length
of time depending upon when
the plant had time to candle
the eggs. On . the table also
was a gallon can for the
good (?) eggs and another for
the spoiled eggs. The worker
cracked an egg, held it to her
nose, then disposed of it in
the proper can. At the end
of the day the good (?) eggs
were frozen and sold to a firm
in Portland that made salad
dressings, cakes and cookies.
I have never since pur
chased at the store any prod
uct that contained eggs.
Anna M. Streed,
36 North Peach st.,
Medford
Two-Legged Dogs
To the Editor: The people of
Medford are complaining of
too many dogs and the wel
fare of these homeless dogs.
I'm all for this and also
while we all have our feathers
ruffled let's clean up the two
legged dogs, the men in Med
ford who walk the streets in
sulting little girls and. decent
women.
How can the same man com
mit the same crime-and to
me it is one-indecent expos
ure, over and over again. Sure
these men are sick, but let's
put them away where they
can do no harm to little kids.
There is a man who does
nothing but park on the street
in his car and expose himself
to women. Ask me how I
know, I'm just one of the
many victims of this man. You
can read about this one crime
almost every week in the
Medford paper. A little seven-year-old
was his last victim.
Okay, we can find a place
to put poor little dogs who
have very few faults, but let
the other kind roam loose,
without giving ; it a second
thought. Please print this.
Joan Hughes,
2154 Crater Lake ave.,
Medford
TV Competition -
To the Editor: It was with
great joy I recently read the
news of a new TV station com
ing into Medford.
This will greatly improve
the entertainment offered the
residents of this large view
ing area. There is nothing so
boring as having reruns, re
runs and more reruns as of
fered to us now. We are asked
to patronize the sponsors,
which we do willingly, but
does the sponsor who is sold
these rerun fragments get the
full benefit of his advertise
ment expenditure? I think not.
I believe it is high time the
TV viewers voice their desire
to have some competition on
the viewing screen that will
result in an end to reruns and
TRASH.
P. S. Shogren,
1705 South Columbus,
Medford
Teen Age Facilities
To the Editor: I would ap
preciate being able to write
a few words in your column
concerning teen-agers, and
the hornets nest started up
some little time in the past.
Being the parent of two teen
agers and more or less on a
speaking acquaintance with
them, I feel that perhaps I
am a little closer to their
problems than some.
The recent letter by Orville
Bunn was needed.. Admitted
ly he was a little on the salty
side, and perhaps he trod
heavily on some toes that
didn't deserve the rough
treatment; however there
were some of the things he
hit squarely on the nose.
After reading the letter over
carefully, it seems that he
was not interested so much
in placing blame, nor was he
bemoaning the loss of these
activities, but seemingly he
was trying disgustedly to
bring to the attention of Med
ford and surrounding areas
some of the shortcomings in
sofar as the activities for all
teen-agers are concerned, not
only in Medford, but all the
surrounding towns and the
valley as well, but as other
people wrote in to the paper
in reply it developed that
quite a number of -people
that should have been old
enough to be considered as
adults, proved by their words
that they were more short
sighted than the flightiest of
teen-agers.
Since those articles were
written I have been very
pleased to note in the Trib
une articles concerning the
contemplated erection of fa
cilities for the activities and
pleasure of young people in
several different places and
diversified activities.
I think the Tribune de
serves a vote of thanks for
its interest, and treatment of
Dennis the
GO.MDi 1 TUB
Today & Tomorrow
By Walter
McELROY'S TROUBLES
In the swirling controversy
over the Eisenhower-McElroy
budget the inquiring by
stander must,
I believe, ac
cept the fact
that the basic
issue is not
one which
can be settled
definitely
There is a race
of armaments.
"Rut xr Yi n ic
Walter ,.,
uppmann ahead now,
and who will be, "ahead" two
years from now is not some
thing that can be measured
quantitatively, even if there
existed perfect intelligence
with exact and . complete
knowledge of the quantity
and quality of all the wea
pons on both sides. What
statesmen really have to esti
mate is what is likely to be
the judgment of other states
men about the existing bal
ance of the power. In making
these judgments they have to
listen to the calculations of
the experts in various spe
cialties. But they must be
able to make the necessary
discount in these expert cal
culations, remembering that
they are essentially about
war games and not about the
whole Teality.
For these calculations are
invariably theoretical ab
stractions w hat, for ex
ample, would happen if there
were a war in which one side
had X number of missiles and
the other had X plus Y mis
siles? At bottom the argument
between the Administration
and Sen. Symington is
whether the balance of power
should be calculated in terms
of intercontinental missiles or
whether it should be judged
in terms of the whole com
plex of armaments and of the
international political situa
tion.
"IfY POINT in all thLs Is not
"Mo say that Mr. McElroy
and the Administration are
right. I think they are very
wrong. But I do not think
that they are deliberately
th different ideas.
it is not my intention to
kick a sleeping dog, so to
speak, but it is my hope that
this letter might help to keep
the thought of improvements
that are contemplated fresh
in the mind's eye of the peo
ple who have made state
ments that they intend to do
something about it, and to re
mind them that these activi
ties are still needed, and
maybe they will get the job
done.
Larry Turner
Route 1, Box 383
Central Point, Ore.
Any Ideas?
To the Editor: Just wanted
to write this letter to find out
how many of your readers
have had the same trouble
we have had in regard to col
lecting from people on "wel
fare." We rented to this party,
but before I did, I called the
Jackson County Public Wel
fare and was told this wom
an's check would cover the
rent, electricity and fuel.
After the first month we had
to ask her to move because
the neighbors complained of
parties and fights. The house
was left in a mess, a broken
window and a torn up window-screen,
and she owed
two months for electricity.
When I called the Welfare
office I was told they were
sorry, but they couldn't do
anything and that the party
had moved again and they
couldn't tell me where as she
hadn't left a forwarding ad
dress. Anybody got any good
ideas?
Mrs. James Hayes
263 North 5th st.
Central Point, Ore.
Menace
- t
L I
QMS AAST KV
Lippmann
misleading the country. What
they have done is to argue
their case so badly that they
are losing the confidence of
the public.
The fatal error lies in the
decision of the President to
make the paramount issue of
the present time a Federal
budget balanced at the exist
ing level of taxes, along with
a promise of a reduction of
taxes before the next Presi
dential election. We are ap
proaching one of the great
climaxes of the cold war and
the President's decision about
the paramountcy of the budg
et reflects a failure to under
stand the nature of the cold
war.
It makes suspect all the
military estimates in the
budget. For it is no part of
the law of the land, or of that
moral law which the Presi
dent frequently invokes, that
the existing structure cannot
be raised and should be
lowered. To insist on such a
dogma about taxes is to tell
the people and the world
that national defense is not
the first but only the second
ary consideration in this gov
ernment.
From this it follows inevi
tably that Secretary McEl
roy's assurances about our
over-all strength are quite un
convincing. For nobody is
prepared to believe that by a
wonderfully lucky coinci
dence the money needed for
national defense is just the
amount of money we can af
ford to spend if the budget
is to be balanced without
raising taxes.
rpHIS initial error about the
- budget has forced Mr.
McElroy into making the dis
astrous announcement that
the United States has with
drawn from the missiles race.
He may well be right that
with fewer missiles there will
stttl be an over-all balance of
power. But it is not good for
the Russians and it is bad for
our allies to be' allowed to
think that the richest nation
on earth is unwilling to pay
what it costs to stay in that
part of the race of armaments
which has the most horrible
prospect. Secretary McElroy's
announcement is a most la
mentable way to prepare for
the impending negotiations
which Secretary Dulles is
now dealing with in Europe.
WHAT Should be done
about it? It should be
said in no uncertain terms
that defense has the first pri
ority. If the President will
not say it, perhaps Congress
itself should say it by resolu
tions. There should then be a
substantial increase in the
military appropriations, an
increase sufficient to put us
back into the missiles race.
Then an increase of taxes
should be voted in order to
balance this larger budget.
I am aware that the extra
money invested in making
more of the existing missiles
may be "wasted" - wasted in
the sense that these missiles
will soon . be obsolete and
good only for the junk pile.
But the race of armaments
is in the same sense inherent
ly wasteful since the objec
tive is to make weapons
which will never be used and
will soon be obsolete.
Nevertheless we are in a
race of armaments. It would
be a great day for mankind if
it could be ended. But if the
race is to be ended, this will
be done only if and when we
are able to reach general poli
tical settlements with .the
Communist powers. The' race
of armaments cannot be end
ed or suspended merely be
cause we wish to balance the
budget without raising taxes,
or because it would be good
politics to reduce taxes be
fore the next election.
Copyright 1959 New York
Herald Tribune Inc.
, (By M-T Staff and Contributors)
The newspaper is often
used as a sort of living ency
clopedia, expected to provide
answers to almost any ques
tion, from batting averages
to the name of the prime
minister of Canada. We try
to dig up the answers, and
usually are successful.
One out-of-the-ordinary re
quest last week nearly
stopped us, though. A highly-
respected Medford profes
sional man called to say that
he is the president of an
organization, and could we
please tell him who the other
officers are?
We had a clue, for just a
day or two before the secre
tary of that organization had
come in to the office, saying
that she knew two men were
president and first vice-president
of the group, but she
wasn't sure which was which.
With this lead, we dug into
the old files of the paper,
found the story of last year's
election, prepared a roster of
the officers, and got everyone
straightened around we
hope.
Aside from the names and
proceedings of the various
4-H clubs in the county, we
find the best source of in
teresting names in some of
the sports leagues in Med
ford. The game scheduled
yesterday in the high school
recreational basketball
league was between teams
named the Bony Five and
the Buzzards. Sort of appro
priate, somehow.
Potluck editor:.
Overheard in the Groce
teria, where a very small boy
and his mother were "sam
pling" the sausage on dem
onstration: "Mamma, get the wecipe."
Once in a while a picture
will particularly strike the
fancy of editors across the
country and throughout
Matter of Fact Joseph auoP
THE FIRMNESS PEDDLER
Washington No one has
made very much of John Fos
ter Dulles's latest journey to
London, Paris, and Bonn,
maybe because perpetual mo
tion is now expected of the
Secretary of State. But this
ic not iiist. an
other Dulles
trip. This is a
crucial, even
desperate ven
ture, "ihe truth is
that the loud
ly proclaimed
Western unit
ed front on
J(isDh AIsi.d jdciiui is uy m
l i
means as firm or as united as
it has been made to seem
Dulles has gone off to peddle
Western firmness and unity
amid some pretty somber
omens.
The Soviets, to begin with,
have been using language
about Berlin at the Commu
nist Party Congress in Mos
cow that is even more menac
ing, if anything, than the lan
guage Nikita Khrushchev used
before the NATO meeting in
Paris. The threats to Berlin
have been underlined by Mar
shal Rodion Malinovsky's pub
lic brandishing of the new
Soviet intercontinental mis
siles. As a further gesture,
just as Dulles departed, an
American military convoy
was denied its guaranteed
right of free passage on the
Berlin-Helmstedt Highway.
THUS there has been no sub
stantiation of the earlier
State Department story about
the Kremlin being "impressed
by Western firmness" and
therefore wanting to "get off
the Berlin hook." For just this
reason, the new State Depart
ment line is that the Kremlin
now plans to "test the West's
unity to the utmost." Perhaps,
therefore, it is an even worse
omen that .prime Minister
Harold Macmillan apparently
decided to accept the Soviet
invitation to discuss the Ber
lin question in Moscow, with
out bothering to consult the
American, French, or West
German governments about
this fairly vital step.
The Macmillan decision to
go to Moscow must be doubt
fully regarded, simply be
cause London is the center of
Western disunity one might
almost say the center of West
ern softness on the grim Ber
lin issue. The London attitude
was most clearly manifested
in the talks about the Berlin
problem that have been held
here between Deputy Secre
tary of State Robert Murphy
and the British and French
Ambassadors, Sir Harold Cac
cia and Herve Alphand. Brit
ish objections to a firm and
clear "contingency plan" for
Berlin brought the talks to a
virtual impasse. Here, in
truth, is the main cause for
the latest Dulles journey
abroad. j
j..:iu jiii i urn
the world, for that matter.
It happened here a few
years ago when Carl Lan
dis' picture of Medford high
school boys in bermuda
shorts was printed in papers
across the nation and In
many foreign countries. The
same thing happened to
Staff Photographer Bob
Vroman's picture of last
September of Bruce and
Barbara Barnett of Medford
peering out of a "castle",
built of firewood. We still
are getting a few dippings
of that picture from distant
papers. The most recent was
sent us by Mrs. P. A. Tracy
of Central Point, who re
ceived it from her brother
in Detroit, Mich., who had
found it in the Valley Sun
of Calvert City, Ky, Inci
dentally, Photographer Bob
drove by the Barnett s'
house the other day to see
if any of the castle remains.
It doesn't.
There are some occupations
in which men and women are
"on duty" or "on call" 24
hours a day. The workers
take it pretty much for grant
ed, but often their wives take
a dim view of it.
The wife of a newspaper
man, for instance, never
knows for sure how soon her
husband will be home for
dinner, or when a sudden
news-break might break up
an evening.
The wife of the operator of
the Medford Ambulance serv
ice, likewise, is used to emer
gency telephone calls at any
hour of the day or night and
also she never knows when a
paper or radio station will call
for information about an ac
cident. The other day she called
the Mail Tribune to inform us
she was going to bake bread
and would have her hands in
dough for the next two hours.
And she didn't want to be dis
turbed! A CONTINGENCY plan is a
detailed program of what
we will do and when
and how, if the Soviets start
actively preparing a renewed
Berlin blockade by their East
German puppets. Such a plan
is now doubly necessary. It is
necessary, first, as the only
possible proof that the West
ern allies really are firm
about Berlin. It is necessary,
second, because the West can
not safely begin to negotiate
with the Soviets about Ger
many, without a solid prior
j understanding about the meas
j ures to be taken if the Soviets
put the heat on Berlin in mid
conference. Since the Soviets have in
stalled radar-jamming mech
anisms all around the threat
ened city, it is no longer pos
sible to sustain Berlin by air
lift for more than 18 months.
Secretary Dulles and the
American Joint Chiefs of
Staff have therefore quite
unanimously concluded that
the air lift expedient is a
dead-end street. They have
decided that any threat of
a new blockade of Berlin must
be met head-on,: by sending
an armored convoy 'if need
be. In the bland, homogenize
atmosphere of Eisenhower
Washington, remarkably little
attention has been paid to
this deeply solemn decision.
which is in fact a decision to
risk a big war if need be.
IN LINE with the Dulles de
cision, Deputy Secretary
Murphy has been trying to
get our allies to agree on a
contingency plan embodying
use of an armored column.
Because of Gen. Charles de
Gaulle, the French attitude
has been as firm as Dulles
and Murphy could wish. West
Germany is not technically
one of the Berlin guarantors,
so the West German Ambas
sador has not been included
in the talks led by Murphy.
But Chancellor Adenauer has
of course been consulted, and
he too is firm.
There was a moment when
the British also seemed ready
to be firm. This was more
than a fortnight ago, when
London accepted a French
formula committing the Ber
lin guarantors not to abandon
any access-route to Berlin,
whether by land or air. But
when this fact was published,
the Foreign Ofice passed out
the strange word that the com
mitment just given did not
foreclose abandonment of the
land routes and resort to the
dead-end expedient of an air
lift. The talks here were also
marred by some fairly un
pleasant scenes; and Secre
tary Dulles has therefore hur
ried off to use his own influ
ence to secure unity.
Meanwhile, the Defense De
partment is continuing the
cuts in the armed forces, and
the President has gone quail
shooting with George Hum
phrey. (c) 1959 New York Herald
Tribune Inc.