Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, March 20, 1959, Image 4

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    4 Friday, March 20, 1939
MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE.
"Everyone It Southern Oregon
Keaas ine atau inuunc
Published DjIIv except Saturday by
MJ.DFORD PRINTING CO
33 North fHStPh.SP 2-6141
ROBEP.T W RTJHL, Editor
KERB GREY Advertising Manager
GERALD LATHAM. Business Mgr
ERIC W ALLEN JR,
Managing F.ditor
EARL H ADAMS. City Editor
HRRY CHIPMAN. Teleg Editor
RICHARD JEWETT Sports Editor
OLIVE STARCHER Women Editor
DALE ERICKSON. Circulation Mgr
An Independent Newspaper
Entered as second class matter at
Medford Oregon under Act of
March 3. 1397
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By Carrier In Advance Medford.
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Official Paper of City f Medfor
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AS(sbc5ATl(o)N
Flight 'o Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from ths files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
March 20, 1949 (Sunday)
The new Greyhound bus
terminal is to be opened Wed
nesday with B. W. Riebe ap
pointed agent.
Mrs. Don J. Stoner, winner
of the "Sleepy Hour" swim
ming pool benefit quiz show,
has her portrait painted by
Hal Bsihop as one prize.
20 YEARS AGO
March 20. 1939 (Monday)
Robert Kent, project super
intendent at Camp Prescott,
is reportedly named manager
of the Talent irrigation dis
trict. From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "Edi
tors of the state are busy
these days, noting the failures
of the legislature, and the
home-town basketball teams
at Salem."
30 YEARS AGO
March 20. 1929 (Wednesday)
Orchardists are urged to
hurry their thermometer
tests.
The Medford city council
passes an ordinance prohibit
ing roller skating on city
streets.
40 YEARS AGO
March 20. 1919 (Thursday)
Saturday school days are
dispensed with as the curricu
lum has caught up with time
lost during the flu epidemic.
A total of 250 people are
expected tonight at a get-to
gether banquet of various
commercial clubs in the area.
50 YEARS AGO
March 20. 1909 (Saturday)
Citizens Telephone com
pany wins the city franchise
3c Mpriford votes for it
322-125 in a special election.
The Jackson county court
is in session to consider tne
$50,000 Crater Lake road ap
propriation.
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct is superior;
seven or eight is excellent; liva or
six is good.
1. Which state names have
only four letters?
2. What rank do students
at the TJ. S. Naval academy
hold? :
3. Did Jack Dempsey and
Gene Tunney contest against
each c'.her for the heavy
weight title once, or twice?
4. In which city is the U. S
Naval observatory? -
5. In what country is the
Chongchon river?
6. In Army slang, what is
a "shavetail?"
7, A clavichord is a bone of
the human body, a forerunner
of the modern piano, "or a
crossbow?
8. William Bradford was
the Governor of which Eng
lish colony?
9. Were the famous clipper
"ships sailing vessels, or steam
propelled ships?
10. Which holds the higher
rank, a captain in the Army,
or a captain in the Navy?
Answers: l". Iowa, Ohio,
Utah. 2. Midshipman. ,3.
Twice. 4. Washington. D. C. 5.
Korea. 6. Second Lieutenant.
7. Forerunner of piano. 8.
Massachusetts. 9. Sailing
ships. 10. Navy.
PLAYWRIGHT DIES
.; Moscow - IUPD - Salva Dadi
ana, 85, noted Georgian play
wright and actor, has died,
Pravda announced Thursday.
The State and Its Schools
Housewives know about inflation. It is what
causes them to spend far more for necessities than
they did 10 years ago.
Fathers of growing families know that addi
tional members of the family bring an increase in
the cost of supporting the family.
Oregon's schools are suffering from both phe
nomena. Inflation has made everything more costly
salaries and wrages, textbooks, paper, school con
struction everything.
Growth 'also skyrockets costs. Each year in
Oregon, 12,000 new-students enter the schools.
"THESE are the two basic reasons (coupled with
" a commendable desire to maintain and im
prove standards and methods) why school bud
gets have gone up and up and up.
This is why school districts nave to run as hard
as they can just to stay in the same place.
In this race to stay competent and efficient,
they have had the whole-hearted support of the
people of Oregon, who, time and again, have
shown they are willing to pay for schools and
for good ones.
HTWO years ago the legislature undertook to set
the level of state financial support of the
schools at about 38 per cent, leaving some 62 per
cent up to the local districts to raise from property
taxes. This is done through the Basic School Sup
port Fund, which comes from state income taxes.
This year, while there are proposals to increase
this fund, they stand little chance because of po
tential disagreements as to whether the distribu
tion formula should be changed.
But, if additional state funds are not made
available to local school districts, the degree of
state support will fall below the 38 per cent figure
simply because inflation and growth have
raised the over-all costs of school operation.
IF THE degree of state financial support is not
maintained, through increased appropriations,
the legislature is, in effect, telling local school dis
tricts they have two choices :
1. Increase your property taxes to maintain
your schools at existing levels, or
2. Let your standards slip; cut your budgets;
decrease the. quality and quantity of education
available to your children.
If the legislature does that, it will be ignoring
the repeated mandate of the voters to provide
ample support for local schools from the state.
A BILL to keep the state's share of school sup-
uuii du uuul cue oo pel ueiii icvci 10 nuuac
Bill 514. It would provide an additional $20,400,
000 in state funds for schools during the next two
years, to be distributed as flat grants, based on
the number of children irf each school district.
(The bill is not to increase the Basic School Fund
it would provide a temporary allocation over
and above that amount.)
If this bill, or something very similiar, is not
passed, it will mean in the Medford district, for
instance, an increase in school taxes of about 5
mills or about $187,000. Either that or a lower
ing of existing standards by that amount.
The same situation would apply in greater or
lesser degree to all other Oregon school districts.
The state, at a very minimum, should continue
contributing to school support at no smaller level
than at present. E.A.
Who's To Pay?
If House Bill 514 (discussed above) is passed,
it will throw state budgetary plans into a muddle.
Existing taxes just won't provide for such an in
crease, on top of other demands. '
State Senate President Walter Pearson has
proposed a sales tax to pay educational costs.
House Speaker Robert Duncan believes that a
sales tax is inevitable some day but not yet.
The legislature today is no nearer a decision
on the size of the budget, and how it is to be met,
than it was when it convened Jan. 12.
IXE HEARD one highly - placed Democrat not
Y long ago say that, before the people of Ore
gon will wake up to the needs of the state, and
become willing to pay the bill, they'll have to go
through a period of real governmental austerity.
In pther words, he thinks that state services
including: education, institutions, and all the rest
a 7
will have to suffer before the voters realize their
necessity.
Maybe he's right. We'd prefer not to believe
it. And we'd hate to see the legislature funk its
responsibility just to test this theoiy. It Is the
responsibility of the legislature to find out what
the state needs, and then find a way to pay for it.
,.'.
IN" THE past, educators have come to the legisla
ture to point out the needs of education, and
have also brought suggestions as to how the neces
sary funds can be raised.
They've been slapped down for these sugges
tions, being told that it's none of their business
how the funds should be raised; that this is a
legislative prerogative.
It's now wrvlv amusine- to hear legislators.
when faced with requests such as House Bill 514
(which educators think is vital for continuation of
good schools), complain that educators and inter
ested citizens are not, this time, making any sug
gestions as to how the money should be raised.
We have a feeling that if the legislature would
face up to Oregon's real needs, pass a realistic tax
program, and then tell the voters, factually and
realistically, why it is needed, it would be ap
proved. E.A.
Dennis the
I AVMlSSOH
" ADULT ft gill -1,
'kvMi fbwb u&to sir
D'Aufremorif Prosecutor Holds
Hugh Led Brothers ira Murder
. To the Editor: It has never
been my practice nor policy
to write letters to the Editor
and thereby possibly inaugu
rate a newspaper controversy,
but on the front page of your
newspaper several days ago
there appeared an article
which apparently purported
to place a halo on the brow
of Hugh D'Autremont and de
pict him in the role of a hero,
and wherein, for some un
known reason, not only was
he characterized as a martyr
but as a tool and innocent
victim of his twin brothers'
ingenuity and influence.
Having acted as a special
prosecutor in the two trials
which were had in this coun
ty, at which time Hugh was
convicted and given a life
sentence, I believe that I am
in a position to know some
thing about the situation, and
consequently I deem it my
civic duty to make some com
ments relative thereto.
Now I have nothing against
Hugh personally, except the
feeling in common with all
good citizens that any mur
derer should be punished.
While I was not in favor of
his parole, nevertheless I did
not oppose the action of the
Parole Board in granting him
freedom, because I deemed
that to be within its province,
but I do remember this trial
and the evidence which was
adduced therein very vividly.
I know that Hugh and his
twin brothers murdered four
innocent men in cold blood
without any reason, cause or
justification, and that these
were, perhaps, four of the
most brutal murders ever
committed within the State of
Oregon.
Unquestionably, the only
reason that Hugh D'Autre
mont was not found guilty of
first degree murder without
any recommendation and ex
ecuted, was because of the
fact that all of the evidence
against him was circumstan
tial, and the jury, in keeping
with the reluctance : of juries
generally not to convict upon
circumstantial evidence, saved
his life by making a recom
mendation of life imprison:
ment. There was no question
as to his guilt a that time,
nor later, because subsequent
to his conviction he and his
brothers confessed to these
heinous murders.
The twin brothers, incident-
DEFEND FOREIGN AID
Wastfington-IUPD-The admin
istration plans to send every
member of Congress a 153
page book spelling out its
arguments for President Ei
senhower's embattled $3,930,
000,000 foreign aid program.
The publication will be put
out jointly by the Senate and
Defense Departments and the
International Cooperation Administration.
Try and Stop
By BENNETT CERF
MARK TWAIN once was allowed to buy stock in a publish
ing house, and boasted to a friend, "This will net me a for
tune. They've let me in on the ground floor."
Ten months later the pub
lishing house went bank
rupt, and the friend taunt
ed, "I thought you said they
let you in on the ground
floor?" "So they did," main
tained Twain, "but there
was a son of a gun in the
basement!"
Mark Twain explained
another time that all true
humorists find themselves
in the same position: "We
have to make people, who
would otherwise hang us,
believe that we are joking."
A tourist wandered into a flea circus and watched spellbound while
the head flea did his tricks. "Did you educate that flea yourself?"
he asked the owner of the show."
"I did," was the proud reply. "I raised it from a pup."
C 1259, by Bennett Cerf. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Menace
in m o?ms my
ally, were not apprehended
until after Hugh's conviction
and thereafter pleaded guilty
and made some kind of a deal
with the then authorities
without the knowledge of
George N e u n e r or myself.
George Neuner -was then the
United States District Attor
ney for Oregon and he and I
acted as special prosecutors
in the trial of Hugh. Hugh, in
our opinion, was the "brains"
in this crime and did most,
if not all, the planning, and
ra.ther than being led by his
brothers actually influenced
and led them.
While I have the greatest
respect and admiration for
the ability and sincerity of
those who have sympathy for
Create Problem, Possibility
By LYLE C. WILSON
Washington -0JPD- President
Eisenhower and others are
fearful that the Russians are
not convinced
that the Unit
ed States and
its allies real
ly mean to
stand firmly
on the ques
tion of Berlin
even though
it may mean
,war.
yie c. Wilson Perhaps the
Kremlin would be more will
ing to believe if the armed
forces of the United States in
Western Europe were not part
time baby sitters as well as
soldiers, airmen and the like.
Not actually baby-sitters, of
course.
But, what about the 255,000
or so dependents of American
troops who are on the West
ern front? They are the wives
and children of the enlisted
and commissioned personnel
who compose a first line of
defense in a dangerous spring
time. Unquestionably it is
good for morale good for
morals, too for the families
of the overseas forces' to be
stationed handy-by.
Estimate Total of Dependents
The Pentagon is cagy about
how many dependents are in
Western Europe; cagy about
how the problem of depend
ents will be handled if war
comes. A pretty good estimate
today is that there are 165,000
Army dependents there and
90,000 Air Force. The Navy
has few ashore and, of course,
the Navy afloat remains the
last bastion of modern times.
Plans to get the dependents
out of the way of a shooting
war have been made. The
plans involve an instant con
centration of the dependents
at various military stations
preliminary to a great parade
of women and children to sea
ports and shipment home.
It is quite obvious that this
l:L 1
Subtle Change in Egypt's Attitude On
U.S. Noted; Two Reasons Seen as Cause
By PHIL NEWSOM . I
UPI Foreign News Editor
Cairo. United Arab Renub-
lic-UPD-There has been a sub
tle change here in the rela
tionship between the United
States and
Egypt.
It is visible
in . the treat
ment given
' the United
$ States by the
'-SEevntian
J n e w s p apers
3 and the Cairo
Phil iSewsom raoiO.
Today the newspapers are
playing the news "straight."
The story of the Berlin crisis
is being played generally with
what U.S. readers would call
objectivity, minus the former
line which " portrayed the
United States as an imperial
ist and an enemy of Arab
unity.
Formerly, the press here
Hugh, which they have ex
pressed, I respectfully submit
that notwithstanding their
emotional desire to do good,
our sympathy and considera
tion should be directed to
ward the widows and chil
dren and riear relatives of
those four unfortunate men
who were so foully slain and
murdered by the D'Autre
monts. Remembering the unpro
voked, callous, premeditated
and terrible killing of these
four innocent men, I should
say that Hugh is lucky to
have been alive all of these
years. .
George M. Roberts
U.S. National Bank Bldg.
Medford
ependents in Europe
majestic assembly of wives
and children, nursemaids, pets
and such impedimenta would
work only if there is what the
generals call a strategic warn
ing, that is, a warning several
days in advance of actual
fighting.
A tactical warning of a few
hours or a surprise attack
leaves much to the imagina
tion, most of it bad. There
would be again the panic of
flight such as made road trans
portation collapse in France
in 1940. Instead of orderly
concentration and movement
to the seaports there might,
probably would, be a dis
orderly rout. '
The logistics problem is ap
palling. Food for 255,000
frightened refugees can not
be carried in a nand basket.
Fuel for multi-thousands of
military and commandeered
private automobiles cannot be
carried in a five-gallon can.
ommunications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initia
tor publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right tc
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
Heart Fund Thanks
To the Editor: On be half
of the Oregon Heart Asocia
tion I wish to thank the Mail
Tribune for its generous con
tribution to the success of the
1959 Jackson County Heart
Fund Drive. Your coverage of
the drive helped make it pos
sible to raise the money which
is needed for vital research to
continue.
For my own part, I wish to
send my greatest thanks.
Mrs. C. H. Buffington,
Jackson County Heart
Fund Chairman.
Review of Review
To the Editor: Tuesday eve
ning I attended the Footlight
ers' production of "The Tend
er Trap." Your Wednesday
edition carried a review of the
play. "The Tender Trap" was
staged by a local amateur
group. May I compliment your
judgment in assigning the re
view to one of like experience.
The M.T. coverage seemed to
hang midway between
straight reporting and cri
tique, and finally fell absy
mally between.
Reading your paper's re
view conveyed the impression
that I was actually re-reading
something from some previous
occasion. This impression was,
quickly clarified. A study of
prior treatments of other Foot
lighter plays during the past
year reveals a consumate
sameness in each writeup.
There are the same homely
irrelevancies; the same omis
sions of pertinent items; the
same impaired perceptions
and absence of objectivity.
The amateur endeavor of
those on the stage differs
from that of the one on the
page in one major respect:
their performance is given
jibed at the American space
exploration program, taunt-
mg the United States to aban-
don its space race against the
Russians.
When the U.S. Pioneer IV
soared into orbit around the
sun the Egyptian press played
it straight.
Our Policy Changes
Two explanations are given
here for the change.
The first is a change in U.S.
policy itself.
This change has been unad
vertised, but it was a switch
from the strict U.S. line which
demanded that Middle East
nations either be for or
against Western policies in
general. It was a recognition
that the neutrality line es
poused by President Gamal
Abdel Nasser of the United
Arab Republic, President
Tito of Yugoslavia and Prime
Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of
India exists and might as well
be recognized.
U.S. diplomats attributed
the other side of it to a gen
eral recognition by Nasser's
regime of the danger of in
ternational communism.
All of this is not to say that
Egyptians consider the United
States a friend of Egypt, nor
that there is a veering here
toward the West away from
the East.
In fact, Egyptians profess
not to understand U.S. rea
soning. An Economic Necessity
This is a report of a conver
sation with a prominent Egyp
tion publisher educated in the
United States.
"The United States," he
said, "fails to recognize that
the Nasser government essen
tially is anti-Communist.
"Instead, when .Nasser says
he either must sell Egyptian
cotton to the West or the Rus
sians, you cry blackmail. ,
"You look for the hidden
motive.
"The motive is right before
There is the further ques
tion of the efficiency of a
fighting force in which the
enlisted and commissioned
ranks were aware that their
loved ones were in panicky
progress toward evacuation
ports with the Lord only
would know how many Rus
sian MIGs strafing the civilian
columns.
A man might desert his post
of duty- with such thoughts in
his mind. There has been no
move nor the indication of
anv intention to get the wom
enand children out of West
ern Europe before the storm
breaks if it breaks. .
United Press International
got the idea unofficially that
only Eisenhower could order
the dependents to come home.
Such an order on the eve of
the up-coming foreign minis
ters conference might have an
interesting impact on the
Kremlin state of mind.
with vitality ana enthusiasm
It is neither jaded nor OSsi-
fied. ..
It is obvious that certain
plays because of their sub
stance or technical demands
upon players . and crew, or
both, should hot be undertak
en by amateur groups. This
would appear to hold true to
plays for prospective review.
I do not know what is next on
the Footlighters' production
calendar; but to facilitate the
task of your reviewer I would
suggest they consider "For
Whom the Belle Claques."
Alvin Reiss,
513 Dakota ave.,
Medford.
A" "Misfit" Speaks
To the Editor: I am writing
in regard to the articles that
have appeared in the Mail
Tribune and also over TV
about hiring handicapped per
sons. Just what rules and regula
tions are set up that a person
must comply with to be a
handicapped person?
Take the blind institute for
example. They will not help
a person that is extremely
nearsighted. One has to be
darn near blind before they
will help. Yet they say save
your sight. After you are darn
near blind I think it's a little
too late to try and save it,
don't you?
When one goes to them for
help they say: Oh no, you
can"t be helped, you have too
much sight, although all your
life you have had to put up
with missing the most of life,
the beauty of nature, and it's
all around us. In fact it was
no fault of anyone's that you
were born with very little
sight, but glasses improved
you. You say to Nasser, 'You
can't sell your cotton to Rus
sia, but you can't sell it to us
either.' You provide no market.
"But Egypt must sell its
cotton. So it sells its cotton to
Russia. It is a matter of eco
nomic necessity.
"Egypt wants to buy from
the West, but you make it im
possible for Egypt to obtain
foreign exchange.
Washington Report
By WILLIAM
THE KNIFE OF DISCORD
Washington - The most un
secret of all Republican wea
pons is never found in any
IRepubli-
v c a n arsenal.
I This top wea-
on is a strict-
ly Democratic
t knife,
knife of
dis-
cord which
some of the
Democrats
ar unable to
William S. , . ,
White refrain from
sticking into other Democrats
before each Presidential elec
tion. True, the Republicans are
not always above family
fighting. But they never even
start intraparty war without
some rational purpose. And
in any case they never inflict
among themselves wounds
impossible to poultice over
before election day.
Such self-restraint is not
for the Democrats. Their au
tomatic trouble-makers used
to be the Southern ultra-conservatives.
These old boys
went to every convention
happily doing their best to
College Students
Escape Injury
Three University of Oregon
students escaped injury
Thursday evening when the
car in which they were riding
hit a guard rail on highway
99 south, 1 mile north of the
state line, state nolice re
ported.
Operator of the car, Sam
uel Joseph Spooner, 18, told
police his auto was forced to
the rail to avoid striking a
truck towing a house trailer,
which was passing a second
truck on a curve.
Passengers in Spooner's
car, Marcia Gayle Currlis, 18,
and Jack Arthur McKay, 20,
were uninjured. They were
traveling south on vacation
from the University of Ore
gon, according to reports.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
London - (UPD - When a fire
swept the Pembroke dock fire
station today, firemen were
unable to save two fire en
eines and other equipment but
manaeed to carry a TV set
and a billiard table to safety.
it a little. Oh yes. but not
enough for the so-called em
ployer to consider you had
enough sight to do 8 hours
work for him. All he could
think of was, well, there is
for this job, we won't take
for this job, we wont' take
a chance on the misfitted,
nearsighted person.
I could go on forever and
tell of the employers that sit
behind their big shiny desks
and look down their long
skinny noses at the misfits
in this world, never dream
ing that some act of God or
freak of nature could do the
same thing to them. Their
motto is, hire only the perfect
ones, they are right for the
job. Never take a chance on
the guy that is a little short
or maybe too tall, or that one
that is a little too heavy or a
litle too thin, or the one that
walks with a limp or maybe
a little hunched back, or just
the one that didn't get an
education like the rest, one
that is retarded a little, and
couldn't read or write, had
some illness that left a mental
block for the rest of their
lives. Don't hire these misfits,
just hire the perfect ones.
Readers, this is no joke. It
happens every ' day all over
the United States, but what
can one do when they are
misfit and cannot run in com
petition with the perfect ones?
I know as I am one of these
misfits and cannot even get
employment so I can support
my three children.
I will either have to place
them out for adoption or have
the Welfare place them under
foster care. I am no longer
able to fight my handicap
any more.
The Bible says that men
are all created equal. What
about us women? If so, why
are there so many misfits in
the world like myself? And
why should we have to com
pete with the perfect ones?
Why don't we have an equal
right to work and earn a liv
ing instead of asking or beg
ging for charity?
D. H.
Name on file.
"Therefore, Egypt must buy
from Russia."
Diplomats here recognize
some truth in Egypt's claims.
"If we had 100 million dol
lars and could buy up the
Egyptian cotton crop and then
dump it all in the middle of
the ocean, we could save a lot
of problems here.
But right now, we see nei
ther the hundred million dol
las nor another solution.
S. WHITE
shoot down with their squir
rel rifles any Democratic
nominee who could conceiv
ably carry all of the United
States. This breed has largely
gone now.
NOW, Democratic difficul
ties come from the ultra
liberals. These mainly are al
lies of a small, grimly articu
late, high-minded, self-right-ecus
and profoundly inept
group called Americans for
Democratic Action. Most
ADA people are knee-jerk
liberals; they react automa
tically to certain slogans.
To ADA, only ADA is com
petent to decide who is ade
quately "liberal." The defini
tion, moreover, is reached by
incantations which the work
ing Democratic politicians,
who are merely professionals,
have difficulty in following.
Thus, ADA code processes
sometimes exclude politicians
whom the unexcited onlooker
might have thought to be
pretty liberal, on such hum
drum tests as their public rec
ords. ADA, with the best possi
ble intentions and the least
possible sense of humor, is
now primly at work to set
the Democratic party straight
for 1960. And to the pros, it
is a case of run for your lives,
boys, the dam has bust.
FOR an immediate . result
of ADA's earnest efforts
is to do a job on the three
ablest - and probably the
three most responsible 1960
Democratic Presidential pos
sibilities. Among the amused
and gratified spectators is the
Republican National commit
tee. ITEM: Three ultra-liberal
and highly decent Democrats,
Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt,
former Senator Herbert H.
Lehman and former Air
Force Secretary Thomas K.
Finletter, have solemnly set
out to oust Tammany boss
Carmbine De Sapio. He is the
only surviving New York
Democratic leader of obvious '
competence. Naturally, he
must go; he has been found
not to be liberal enough.
It is widely known that
Mrs. Roosevelt and Finletter,
at least, have been strongly
attached to Adlai- E. Steven
son. Few things could be
more harmful to Stevenson's
chances for a third Democra
tic Presidential nomination
than to be associated, willy
nilly, with this absurd at
tempted purge of the regular
New York Democratic or
ganization. There is a side jest here,
too. It is no secret, except
possibly to ADA ultra -liberals,
that Stevenson is es
sentially a civilized conserva
tive. ITEM: The ADA is sniping
tirelessly at the Senate Dem
ocratic leader, Lyndon ' B.
Johnson. Johnson's principal
disability is that he neglected .
to inform his parents that he
must not be born in Texas.
The ultra - liberals, under
standably from their view
point, would not want to see
him President.
NEVERTHELESS, who
would have supposed that
they would prefer Johnson in
a pinch, at any rate, to Vice
President Richard M. Nixon,
against whom ADA has been
quivering with outrage (some
of it wholly justified) for
years? And it is a secret only
to ADA that Johnson might
conceivably be nominated by
the regular Democrats in a
hung-up convention. Against
such a possibility it really
would not seem wise to try
totally to destroy in advance
his combat potential against
the quite possible GOP nomi
nee, Mr. Nixon.
ITEM: Senator Hubert
Humphrey of Minnesota, one
of the few members of ADA
who knows the score, is run
ning for President under
manifest difficulties. The
greatest of these is his loyal,
but not very wise, continued
association with ADA. There
fore, it would appear sensible
for ADA not to embrace him
too publicly and too often.
But, naturally, ADA's af
fection for Humphrey is not
being restrained. All the
same, you can kiss a man to
death in politics almost as
easily as you can kick him
to death.
(Copyright, 1959, by United
Feature Syndicate, Inc.)