MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Oregon, Sanity, March 1, 19S9 I
Presfldleoi.
Fdet
Assist
St
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
Foibles of youth i.ote:
Seventy - four b o y i from
Chelmsford high school (in
taid old England) are out to
set a new silly season record.
Their goal is to push a baby
carriage for 500 consecutive
hours.
The perambulator, bearing
the school's crest, is pushed
round end round the campus,
day and night, without sur
cease. The objective is to beat
the 100 hour record now held
by Nottingham University.
THIS, at least, can be said
for it: It's more practical
than trying to see how many
bodies can be packed into a
standard-size phone booth.
Both the Chelmsford and
the Nottingham youngsters
will be pushing baby carriages
around a few years later on
and the practice they're get
ting now will come in handy
then.
D'ya reckon these silly sea
son stunts the youngsters
fall for are any sillier than a
lot of the things their elders
do?
Trying to conquer the world,
for example. All history
shouts aloud the lesson that it
can't be got away with and
made to stick. But somebody
is always trying it-communist
Russia being the latest.
More Assistance To
Corvallis - Expanded U.S.
assistance to Latin America
for improved education and
public health programs has
received strong endorsement
from Oregon "Great Deci
sions" discussion groups.
Opinion ballots from per
sons participating in informal
discussion groups in 22 Ore
gon counties were tabulated
by Oregon State college ex
tension service. Discussion
topic was "A 'Better Neighbor
Policy for Latin America?"
Nearly 80 per cent of opin
ions favored higher priority
for Latin America in U.S.
global foreign policy. Voters
split about evenly on whether
the U.S. should approach Lat
in American problems on a
country-by-country basis or on
a regional scale.
HEAT PUMP
Average
itiiiWfaiilMi iiiitiNi.iiriiwWiiwtMnm .mrtiii&8
AND-
The inflationary spiral
which is based on the delusion
that if the government just
goes on printing more money
everybody must sooner or lat
er be rich and happy without
doing any more work.
MORE silly season stuff:
Washington dispatches tell
us the House and the Senate
are holding perfunctory ses
sions s6 the lawmakers can
get last-minute speeches into
the Congressional Record be
fore recessing for the ten-day
Easter holiday.
In one of these pot-boiler
orations, Senator Douglas of
Illinois charges that the Air
Force spends a million dollars
of its training funds every
year to stage air show junkets
for civilians. He says the Ar
my, the Navy and the Marine
Corps waste additional milli
ons on additional fetes.
HOW much d'ya spose, does
the CONGRESS waste on
stunts deigned to IMPRESS
THE VOTERS?
I'd hate to guess. '
IT ALL .goes to prove the ba
sic wisdom of Kipling's
crack that "Judy O'Grady and
the Colonel's lady are sisters
under the skin."
Latin America Favored in State
About three-fourths of those
balloting said the U.S. should
keep hands off internal Latin
American politics rather than
intervene on the side of dem
ocratic forces trying to over
throw totalitarian govern
ments. Priority to Assistance
Ballot results gave top pri
ority to U.S: assistance in im
proving educational systems
in Latin America. Latest cen
sus for Latin America shows
illiteracy for persons 10 years
of age or older ranges from
14 per cent of the population
in Argentina to more than 50
per cent in Brazil and nearly
two-thirds in Honduras.
Next priority was for assist
ance to control disease and
provide better health and san
itation facilities.
The home of Mr. and Mn. R. A. Skinner en Hillsida Drive.
Electric heat pump. Operational cosrt for both heating and
OPERATING COSTS
for the 2700 sq. ft. Skinner home
June, 1956 ,
July, 1956
Aug., 1956
Sept., 1956
Oct., 1956
Nov., 1956,
Dec., 1956
Jan., 1957
Feb., 1957
March, 1957
April, 1957
May, 1957
cosfr per month for twelve months was $22.76
Ike's Unofficial
Proposal Seen in
Personal Letter
(Editor's note: This is the
ninth and last in the series
of articles in which the
Great Decisions program is
discussed. Today's discus
sion topic is "What chal
lenge to diplomat and citizen?")
A "First Secretary of the
Government" who would
have "time to think" is Presi
dent Eisenhower's unofficial
proposal to help deal with the
difficult problem of making
government policy in a world
that grows more complex
with each passing day. Ac
cording to a personal presi
dential letter, published in a
recent issue of Life, such an
officer would be relieved of
all administrative duties in
order to spend full time di
recting and coordinating U.S.
international affairs.
The proposal, although
completely unofficial, drama
tizes a problem of great con
cern to many American lead
ers, in and outside the gov
ernment. Stated in its simplest terms,
this concern is whether or
not the American democratic
system, and its present gov-
U.S. policy proposals now
under discussion in Washing
ton were ranked in the follow
ing order of preference:
Expand cultural and student
exchange programs and en
courage study of Latin Amer
ican languages and cultures in
U.S. schools.
Seek long-range answers to
the commodity price problem
by joining with other surplus
producing nations in joint stu
dies. Brazil, for example, has
a carry-over of 14 million bags
of coffee from last year-more
than four times normal "work
ing stock."
Reduce or discontinue U.S.
military assistance to dictat
ors. Expand present U.S. econ
omic and technical assistance
programs in Latin America.
.59
. 2.00
. 4.55
. 3.01
10.08
.33.44
.46.20
.46.59
.46.59
.46.59
23.45
9.87
ernmental machinery, are
able to deal imaginatively
and effectively with the chal
lenges of a fast changing
world.
Three Essentrfel Paris
There are three essential
parts to this concern: (1) how
can the best and freshest
thinking be brought to bear
on U.S. foreign policy? (2)
how can the instruments of
government - Congress and
the many Executive depart
ments function as a team in
framing and conducting all
aspects of American foreign
policy? (3) how can the Amer
ican people participate,
through the democratic pro
cess, in shaping this nation's
relations .with the rest of the
world?
At the governmental level,
according to many observers,
the problem of creating ef
fective foreign policies is in
separable from the problem
of carrying out these policies.
The same pieces of govern
mental machinery are usually
involved, and the same diffi
culties of coordination are
present. Thus, criticism of re
sults is very often, at the
same time, criticism of pol
icy making methods.
New Government Agencies
A number of new .-government
agencies, officies or spe
cial panels have been created
since World War II to deal
with various aspects of secur
ity and foreign policy. Many
of the agencies have the dual
job of drafting policy and of
administering it; some of the
offices and panels are wholly
advisory. (The President, of
course, is ultimately respons
ible under the Constitution
for conducting U.S. foreign
policy.)
One of the most important
new agencies is the National
Security Cquncil, which the
President heads and which
consists of the top officers of
the Executive branch who are
primarily concerned with de
fense and foreign policies.
Other agencies both plan and
administer various foreign af
fairs activities such as the
foreign aid program, atomic
energy developments, etc.
In the advisory category
are such offices as the Presi
dent's special assistant on sci
ence and technology and such
special panels as the Gaither
committee, which submitted
to the White House a highly
controversial appraisal of U.
S. defense policies.
The Skinners' 2700 square foot heme I heared and cooled by a General
coolin g over a period of one year are shown below.
These, however, are merely
a few of the newly estab
lished instruments of U.S.
foreign policy. In addition
there are the long established
arms of the department of
state, including the diplomat
ic service, and the other Ex
ecutive departments whose
activities are closely related
to international affairs - such
as the defense department
and the departments of agri
culture, commerce, labor and
the treasury.
There are many agencies of
government that deal with
some aspect of foreign affairs.
Yet only a handful of these
report to the secretary of
state. The President alone, at
the pinnacle, has final author
ity. Bureaucracy, some observ
ers believe, has got out of
hand; the machinery of for
eign policy is so unwieldy
that creative planning and ef
ficient administration are dif
ficult if not impossible.
The President's idea that a
First Secretary of the Gov
ernment might be in a posi
tion to "think" and thus to
provide over-all leadership
and coordination for all the
branches and pieces of U.S.
foreign policy, is one ap
proach to this concern. Some
observers feel that only the
President can or should pro
vide this kind of supreme
leadership to the government
and the people.
Provide Fresh Thinking
In Congress, meanwhile,
spokesmen for the majority
party have suggested that the
Legislative branch can at
least provide some fresh
thinking on U.S. foreign pol
icy, and can disagree con
structively with the Adminis
tration on matters like de
fense and foreign aid spend
ing. On one principle, however,
there seems to be fundamen
tal agreement; unless U.S..
foreign policy is imaginative,
vigorous and efficient, the
United States will not be able
to provide effective leader
ship to the anti-Communist
alliance, through the Berlin
crisis and all the other cold
war challenges that are bound
to come.
World leadership, in turn,
requires more than smoothly
operating governmental ma
chinery; it also requires un
derstanding, participation and
support by the American peo
ple. Sovereignty, in a demo-
cratlc society, rests with the
citizenry.
Most foreign affairs experts
shy away from the notion that
every citizen can be "his own
secretary of state." Isstles are
too complex,- and too much of
the background information
is necessarily secret. Yet in
creasing numbers of govern
mental leaders and other pub
lic figures are begging the
public to play a larger role
in setting the general direc
tions of U.S. foreign policy
the "Great Decisions" which
underlie specific policies and
programs.
Reasons Are Obvious
Some of the reasons are
obvious. The general direc
tions of U.S. foreign policy
must either express or con
tradict the sovereign will of
the American people. At
stake is the kind of free or
regimented society that sur
vives the challenges of the
present generation - or
whether there is survival at
all.
Taxes are at stake, and the
dividing, up of tax money
among such commitments as
national defense, scientific re
search, education, foreign aid,
flood control and other pub
lic works.
Or, as the1 President point
ed out in his March 16 ad
dress to the nation, "We must
avoid letting fear or lack of
confidence turn us from the
course that self-respect, de
cency and love of liberty
point out . . . We need only
to understand the issues and
to practice the self-discipline
that freedom demands."
The challenge to the citi
zen, in other words, is to
make the democratic process
come alive to serve his needs,
interests and ethical goals.
Citizen's First Tax
The first task of the citizen,
according to many experts,
is education. The free Amer
ican press (including periodi
cals and broadcasting, as well
as newspapers) is generally
recognized as a unique ve
hicle for lifetime citizen edu
cation. Through news reports,
analytical commentary, schol
arly analysis and editorials
the average citizen has access
to almost limitless informa
tion on day-to-day happenings
and on the background to the
day's events.
Civic, business, farm and
labor organizations, as well as
churches and professional so
cieties, are abo important ave
nues for self-education on for
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eign affairs and other public
policy problems on which the
citizen needs to hold informed
opinions. ,
Adult education in a more
formal sense is available
through night schools, exten
sion courses and special study
programs such as "Great De
cisions." 1
Available to Citizen
A vast amount of informa
tion, in other words, is avail
able to "any American citizen
who takes the trouble to in
form himself. But what about
the channels for actijn? How
does the informed citizen take
part in public affairs?
One answer to this question
fs that not all foreign policy
action is taken in Washington.
While Congress is in session,
or during any public debate
on foreign policy, the citizen
can express his informed opin
ions by letters or wire to his
Senators, Congressman or the
White House and state depart
ment! But some aspects of
American foreign policy lie
even closer to the levers of
citizen action.
Education, civil rights, pub
lic investment in economic
growth and social develop
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ment, etc., are largely state
and local issues, rather than
Federal problems, yet they
have a direct bearing on the
nation's capacity to wage a
successful cold war. Voting in
state and local elections, in
other words, can be as import
ant as voting in national elec
tions. Furthermore, the citizen
has numerous channels for in
fluencing public affairs in his
own community and state
through school boards, busi
ness and professional associa
tions, chambers of commerce,
farm and labor organizations,
political parties, citizens' com
mittees, etc.
Direct Participation
' Even direct participation in
international affairs is pos
sible at the state and local
level. Many churches are ac
tively engaged in overseas
missionary, educational or re
lief work. A number of farm,
labor, business, and service or
ganizations are either interna
tional in character, or are in
volved in overseas action pro
grams of a social or other na
ture. Public agencies like
CARE and UNICEF offer the
individual an opportunity to
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participate in important over-.
seas assistance projects.
. Better use of channels such
as these, experts are quick to
point out, may go a long way
toward making the democrat
ic process more effective; it
will not, however, solve the
problem of wise and effective
policy making at the national
level. The people cannot con
duct the nation's foreign poli
cies. Nor, as Sen. J. W. Ful
bright (D-Ark.) pointed out re
cently, can Congress.
Only an informed citizenry,
however, expressing its will
through the democratic pro
cess, can support and respond
creatively to new ideas In for
eign affairs, whenever and by
whomever they may be advanced.
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