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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1960)
o d o c:z"j cc:;op o O n ( ) o 4MAH.TWWNI, Meatfenl CV. i A Te.alet, May It, ,M Iftw'iiiljjrwmTim Everyone In Southern Orecoa Reads The Mail Tribune" Published Daily exrept Saturday fey MEDFORD PRINTING CO. M North Fir St, Ph SPi-Slal ROBFRT W RUHL. Editor HERB GREY Advertlslns Nanaaar T LAT.I.-.:.'.. Cut. Mir. ERIC W AL!.EN JR.. Mnir Editor EAEL H ArjAMS, City Editor HAHKY CHIPMAN. Tr!g. Editor RICHARD JFWETT. Sporta Editor OLIVE STARCHER. Women'a Editor DALE ERICKSON. Circulation Mfr An Independent Newspaper Entered ai second class matttr at Medford. Oreroru undar Aet of March 3. 1BB7 ' SUBSCRIPTION RATES Bv Mall In Advance. Copy 10c Dally and Sunday 1 year IIS (10 Dally and Sunday S moa. 8 00 Dallv and Sunday 3 mos 4.25 Sunday Only One year S4.20 By Carrier In Advance Medford Ashland. Central Point Ear I a Point. Jacksonville. Gold Rill Phoenix. Shady Cove. Rogue Riv er, Talent and on vnotor mutes. Dallv and Sunday 1 year !Bnn Da'lv and Sunday I mo. I SO Carrier and Dealer copy 10c All Terms Cash In Advance "offlrlaTPaper of Clrv of Medford Official Paper of Jackson County United Press International Full leased Wire TJ.P.I Telephoto Newsplcturee MF.MBR of audit bureau OF CIRCULATIONS lvriUln Renresentatlve WEST HOLIDAY CO.. INC Of. flees In New York. Chicago. De trolt. San Francisco Los Angeles. Scuttle. Portland St. Louis, At lanta. Vancouver, B (!. NEWSPAPER PUILISHEIS ASSOCIATION NATIONAL EDITORIAI ASfebClHUOr. XJ J J Flight or Time Medford and Jackson County History from the files of The Mall Tribune 10. 20, 30, 40 and 50 years aoo. May 12, 1950 (Saturday) Miss Wanda Norton, spon sored by the Phoenix PTA, was crowned queen of the two-day Phoenix May festival; highlight of festival will be the dedication of the new Youth Center building. Sen. Wayne L. Morse will speak twice tomorrow for the "Youth Day" program which is being held here In connec tion with National Security week observances. 20 YEARS AGO May 12. 1940 (Sunday) Medford's Crater baseball team lost a three-hour "de bacle" to San Francisco a Pa cify Greyhound club here last night by a za-iu score. From Arthur Perry's "Ye Smudge Pot" colunmn: Ex citing war news Is on tap, via the press, the air, and citizens who make up their own." 30 YEARS AGO May 12, 1930 (Monday) Rain again causes abandon ment of Child Health day parade here; but school Su perintendent Hedrick makes up for it by giving 1,500 school children free ice cream. Salem census shows the population of that city to be 26,000. 40 YEARS AGO May 12, 1920 (Wednesday) Mail carriers In Medford have been wearing coveralls on their job for the past week as i protest against the high er cost of living. C. E. Gates buys out Inter est of William A. Gates In the Gales Auto company. 50 YEARS AGO May 12. 1910 (Thursday) Louis W. Hill, head of the Great Northern railroad has announced definite plans to extend it from Ontario down the Malheur canyon where it will connect with the Oregon Trunk and Pacific and Eas tern from Medford. . Hailey's comet appeared much brighter in the skies over Medford this morning What's Your I.Q.? Nini or ten correct i tuptrior; tevtn or tight it oicetlent; flv or it Is good. 1. What is the modern name of the American League team formerly called the Highland ers? 2. Is the term of a United States patent 17, 27, 37 years? 3. Name the fourth Presi dent of the United States? 4. Who, as recorded in Gen esis 1, said "Let there be light"? 5. Were U.S. gold coins made of gold alloy or solid gold? 6. Is matter granular, composed of a continuous whole? 7. The male sheep is a ram what is the female callod7 8. Is New Hampshire or Maine nicknamed the Granite State? 9. Are all sounds audible to the human ear? 10. Was Walter Raleigh the first to introduce pipe-smok-In In Europe? Answers: 1. New York Yankees, t. 17 years. 3, Jamei Madison. 4. Cod. 5. Gold allov 6. Granalarj im II li of panicle, f. f we, 1. net Hamoihlre. 4V ato. 10. Wi There Wnffctif it Ik lain Cntetfuxjf, What Happened...? What happened to the "Great Crusade"? What happened to the government "clean as a hound's tooth"? What happened to the administration which promised the nation "modern Republicanism," as opposed to Old Guard G.O.P. stand-patism? In the last part of President Eisenhower's last term of office, these questions still go un answered. Amid rising concern for the adequacy of our defense, the unfulfilled needs of Amer ica's capital plant, the neglect of the pressing problems of schools, air and water pollution, na tural resource development, decreasing interna tional prestige, we find ourselves warned that the budget is the main thing. AND this, of course, despite the fact that the "national debt now is less, per capita, than it was seven years ago ; that the national outlays for the benefit of the nation have risen almost not at all, while both population and gross national product have increased. And now, to cap the sorry record of misman agement, conflict of interest, actual moral myopia in high office, comes the Connole affair. Howard Morgan, the sometimes controversial former Oregon Public Utilities Commissioner, (and even his enemies will grant he is a man of integrity,) discusses that case in the following letter, circulated to Oregon newspapers. jyjORGAN says: "During the two years In which I served the peo ple of Oregon as Public Utility Commissioner, I never met nor had any correspondence with Commissioner William Connole of the Federal Power Commission. Yet I came to know him through his decisions and dissents from Commission actions as one of the few perhaps the only-member of a Federal regulatory agency during the past seven years who consistently and unswervingly fought for the public interest. "Particularly In the field of natural gas rate regu lation, where the behavior of the majority of the FPC has been such as to merit the most searching investi gation of their actions and attitudes, with every prob ability that successful prosecutions could be based on such investigations, Mr. Connole fought as a one man minority In case after case for adequate and honest rate regulation for the protection of the con sumer. Always outvoted but never out-argued, he be came In time a painful thorn In the sides of the natural gas lobby and the Elsenhower administration by which he had been appointed. "It has been an open secret for the past two or three years that a top priority project of the White House has been to find a presentable excuse for fir ing or refusing to reappoint Commissioner Connole, Here Is how the project was carried out. "Tommy Corcoran, a former Democratic brain truster who In recent years has broken out with an aggravated case of dollar-signs on the eyeballs and is now a gas company lawyer, approached most and per haps all members of the FPC, asking them to vote his , way In certain cases. Let me say there is no way a regulatory, official can prevent an unscrupulous law yer or company official from doing this; all he can do is to follow his conscience and the facts in deciding the case. To do otherwise is to penalize innocent per sons for actions of which they had no knowledge. You have already guessed what is happening: Corcor an's Involvement is keeping the Democrats quiet, as H was Intended to do; all the Commissioners who have done Corcoran's bidding in the past as well as in this affair are perfectly safe; Commissioner Connole, to whom Corcoran talked but who has not abandoned the consumers, Is losing his Job. "The foregoing is the background necessary to an understanding of the following amazing excerpts from President F.isenhower's news conference of Wednes day, April 27, as reported by the Wall Street Journal the following day. These words deserve-they demand -a far wider circulation: "Q-(Sarah McClendon, EI Paso Times): 'Mr. Presi dent, sir, last December the 2nd I asked you a ques tion and you said you'd look Into It, and that was about the ex parte conversations of Thomas Corcoran, a lawyer, witli members of the Federal Power Com mission, and actions that resulted In an Increase in rales not once but at least twice. I wonder what you think about this?' "The President: 'Well, I don't recall, but I assure you this, that I told them to do It. Do you have anything (conferring with Mr. Hagerty)?' "Mr. Hagerty: 'Yes, but it's too long an answer now.' "(Laughter). "The President: 'Come over to Mr. Hagerty's office and see if he can give you the exact answer.' "Q-(Snrah McClendon): 'Sir, I've been over there several times and asked that question-' "(Laughter.) "The President: 'Well, do you think you or I should do the correction from Mr. Hagerty, one of us will have to do it.' "(Laughter.) "Aren't these astounding replies by the President of the United States when asked what he (not Mr. Hagerty) thought about the situation? Are you laughing? "A few minutes Inter the New York Times, not con tent to allow the only question on this matter to come from a newspaper deep in the heart of the Texas gas country, engaged in this colloquy with Mr. Eisen hower: "Q-(Rlchard E. Mooney, New York Times): 'Mr. President, Senator Bush has said that he has been advised by Uie White House that Mr. Connole will not be reappointed to tile Federal Power Commission. You have received several representations on behalf of Mr. Connole's reappointment, most recently from a group of mayors. Could you tell us. first, are you not going to reappoint Mr. Connole; and second, wliy?' "The President: 'First why, this: Because it is my responsibility to appoint people and to get the best people I can. This Mr. Connole came to see one of my staff in December to ask about his reappoint ment, and they said they'd look Into it. I think I can get a betler man. that's all.' "There is a cruel saying that people get the kind of government they deserve. Not since Warren G. Harding have so many people been so unaware of what is happening to their vital Interests at the Federal level. Worse still, most of those who do know what is going on are cynical or indifferent. Some of them even laugh, It follows as naturally as night follows day that not since Warren G. Harding have we had a president who acts and sounds as Elsen hower does In the passages I have quoted and In many, many more. While some of us must accept more blame than others, there Is plenty of blame for us all." Howard Morgan Black Butte Ranch Sisters, Ore. One wonders, strain, Great Crusade, the "hounds tooth" administra tion, and to "modem Kqublicarum." E.A. what happened to the Dennis the !t5 xk Mother. I rot mpr i just shot "you four times NOW SHE'S 6CREAMIN' fOP SOft&eCOV.... Communications Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, althouqh 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 letteri printed in this column do views of the paper; in tact the Freedom to Advertise To the Editor: Referring to your recent anti-billboard edi torials, It is my belief bill boards help the economy of Oregon. Since we operate a restau rant greatly dependent on Highway 99 travel, the law which you recommend would deal a death blow to our busi ness, and ours would not be the only one to close. Our neighbors, the House of Mys tery and the Old Oregon Mu seum both advertise on 99. Their billboards not only bring business up Sardine Creek, they also keep many tourists in this area an extra day. This extra day means millions of dollars each year added to Southern Oregon's income, spread through mo tels, reftlauranlii and gas sla- tions from Ashland to Grants Pass. For years this road has drawn week-enders from hun dreds of miles and vacationists from everywhere, as well as local residents and their vis itors. We have talked bill boards to travellers and local residents, and here is their re action. They travel by infor mation on bilboards and bill boards break the monotony of driving. None would stop every 12 miles to read about 30 signs all in one confusing bunch. Billboards do not keep tourists out of Oregon. Most of us work for a living. A law to kill legitimate indus try is wrong. A thinking pub lic would not vote to kill bus iness. Taxes would have to In crease to make up the differ ence when gas stations, mo tels, restaurants and others would have to close because of the decline In tourist trade. Oregon is a small state from north to south. With no sign boards to Inform travellers of things to see, they could drive about four hundred miles and spend their vacation money In Washington or California . . a good way to destroy Ore gon's economy. Since 1955 Oregon has had a fair and equitable billboard law. Why erase a good law for one that will destroy our econ- omy? We could ban ALL adver tising and not discriminate. Of course, we do not advocate banning advertising in news papers and magazines, and on radio and TV since we believe in our right to advertise as we choose. How many times news papers have screamed about fredoin of the press! May the November ballot preserve our freedom to advertise as we choose. (Mrs.) Ruth McLain, Alderbrook Cafe, Sardine Creek road, Gold Hill, Ore. Distortions and Falsehoods" To the Editor: The Medford Mail Trioune fur Thursday, April 21, 1960, has an editor ial attacking the Daughters of the American Revolution, entitled "Cheap, Silly, Irre ligious. Just because something ap pears In the New York Times doesn't necessarily make it true. In fact the New lork Times has absolutely lied in the editorial which you re print and to prove that they lied 1 am enclosing a copy of the hearing given to the Secre tary of the Air Force and his aides before the House Un American Activities commit tee. You will notice that the Times says that the Air Force "withdrew" the manual "with apologies." The Air Force did not apolo gize to anyone within the Na I tional Council of Churches or to anybody else. t In order that ytm might Vw Menace not necessarily represent the contrary is often the case. enlightened as to why the Daughters of the American Revolution passed the resolu tion they did, I am enclosing for your edification an article by the Director of the F.B.I. , John Edgar Hoover, entitled "God or Chaos?" in which he discusses not the question of whether the Communists had penetrated the church groups, but he discusses how far they have penetrated the churches! I am also enclosing a copy of the testimony that was giv en by undercover agent Her bert A. Phllbrick, a member of the American Baptist conven tion which is aligned with the National Council of Churches. He discusses how prominent preachers were used and how others were members of the Communist party in spreading the Communist program. You fellows are the first to scream "freedom of the press" the minute you think the government is wlth-hold-ing information from you. But, If you continue to reprint dis tortions and falsehoods you are not exercising freedom of the press but rather license to smear and slander a good or ganization and individuals. You would do better if you would spend your time read ing the testimony given under oath to the committees of the Congress and the statements of men and women who have served their country as under cover agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in stead of reading the tripe that comes out of the New York Times which has long been one of the most active and vo cal supporters of the Nation al Council of Churches in the United States. Edgar C. Bundy General Chairman National Laymen's Council Church League of America 1407 Hill ave. Wheaton, 111. Editor's note: It depends on who one believes. Neither Mr. Philbrick nor Mr. Hoover Impugns the National Council of Churches, as Mr. Bundy chooses to do. Y.M.C.A. Criticised To the Editor: At a largely attended auction last week the auctioneer announced an auc tion to be held next Sunday afternoon, May 15, under the auspices of, or under the su pervision of, the Y.M.C.A. That's right, no mistake! Let's sec. Y. stands for young; M. stands for men's; C. stand for Christian; and A. for association. Now In the.se commandment-breaking days, had it been Y.M.Association, we hadn't been too surprised or chagrined, for many young men do not fear God nor re gard man, but to our knowl edge the C. is still included in the name. How triumphantly and gieei'uiiy wia atheists and sinners in general laugh and snicker and easily say, "We break the Lord's day, but then we don't make any pro fession of being Christians; but that Y.M.C.A. 'Christian' association breaking the con- mands of God by having an auction on the Sabbath day! That's the limit! If that's re ligion, excuse me!" Young Men's Christian Association, how sad! They have brought forth a monstrosity now with the birthmark of the devil upon it! God's word plainly con demns and forbids buying and selling on the Lord's day, but modern Christianity as shown by the Y.M.C.A. doesn't re gard God's commandment as applicable and binding today! We lived near Eugene. The newspaper advertisement said tht Y.W.C.A. mould hv a Women of tht Nations meet- Hammarskjold's 'Quiet Diplomacy' Not Helpful in By PHIL KEWSOM UPI Foreign Editor Dag Hammarskjold recent ly gave recognition to the fact that the United Nations Is re f5SW''H ceding from I 'w fl Ine Puu''c eye. I f M 1 The secre- f jp tary - general, wnos press relations have never been the best, mainly because of his reluctance t o part w 1 1 h a Phil Nemom smidgeon of news voluntarily, made the recognition at a news confer ence. And he placed the blame for it "in part," he said-on the press. He was asked if he didn't think that his pet brand of "quiet diplomacy" had been too successful, and thus had forced the United Nations out of public consciousness as a news story. "I think you are right," he replied, "that the lack of pub lic interest -and the gentle men and ladies of the press have some responsibility to carry in this context-ln what happens in the United Nations Ing to promote a better un derstanding among women. A general invitation was giv en. As a drawing card a full length cut was given of a woman representative from South America dressed-par-don me partly dressed, and showing near all of her lusty legs and limbs. As part of the program she was to "dance the Samba", We confess a happy ignorance as to what "the Samba" is, nor did we grace the meeting by our presence to find out. We had no inclination to promote any such understanding among women! Such things as these in so-called Christian associa tions are a positive shame! They are a travesty and dis grace of the name! Let s present them a many- signatured petition requesting that they remove the name Christian in each ease, or re pent and reform, for Chris tian means being like Christ. We think if Christ were here in person today He would rather be again using a scourge of small cords to drive out such distracting iniquities from our land! Painfully yours, H. R. Bulman, Route 4, Box 316A, Medford No Hemlock for Socrates To the Editor: Articles on religion are always controver sial. They cause much dissen- tlon, but I think he who is a nonconformist is a brave man; whether he is right or wrong, we do not know, but in this age we cannot make a Socra tes out of him "for corrupting the minds of youth" and make him drink the hemlock. Homo sapiens have been trying to find the answer to the riddle of life and death ever since life began, "from the most ignorant savage weeping over his dead to the most learned divine." Have they found the answer? Some think they have through faith and belief, but "he who never doubted never thought." I quote from Gibbon's "Rome": "Constantine, who made Christianity the state religion of Rome (though he broke every law of the moral and ethical code) laments that the Christian people who had the same God, the same religion, should be divided by such in considerable distinctions, and he seriously recommended the clergy of Alexandria that they follow the example of the Greek philosophers who could maintain their argument with out losing their temper, and assert their freedom without violating their friendship". This is still good advice even after 1500 years. H. G. Wells said: "History from the 5th to the 15th cen tury is very much the history of the failure of the religious- political system to prove it self in practice." Our Ameri can forefathers were close enough to the religious intol erance and persecution to wish for a better system, so they established a secular government, separating church and state. George Washington in ad dressing a Hebrew congrega tion said: "The Government of the United States which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, re quires only that the citizens demean themselves as good citizens . . ." The United States treaty with Tripoli around 1800 states. "The government of the United States Is in no sense founded on the Christian religion," thus giving assur ance of no religious bias or bigotry to even Moorish pirates. Charity R. Sander 408 Oak Grove rd. Medford. Preys for Eye-Opening To the Editor: Our timt Mr. Wirth has gives us sooie Publicizing United Nations is In part back of the phenom enon that we observe, of a certain tendency to look for solutions outside the United Nations or at least organs very loosely connected with the United NaUuns." Few Papers Us Hammarskjold said he in dulged personally in "very public diplomacy" with a statement on April 28 to the 10-power disarmament confer ence at Geneva. Few papers in Europe or the United States publicized it, he noted. The "public diplomacy" was a carefully-phrased lec ture to the 10 powers that if they were thinking of setting up an international peace force to patrol the world in the event of disarmament, the U. N. Charter already provid ed for one. It was an appeal to the big powers, who have shown they want little part of the United Nations in the disarmament question, not to continue to by pass the organization. But it was couched in such obscure diplomatic language that it took an expert to explain it. And, as has happened with several of Hammarskjold's major pronouncements, it was interesting lines which to ponder. He, with us, should be thankful that we live in a land where we can believe and worship as we see fit. Just the other day there came into our hands a tape recorded lecture by a man recently returned from Rus sia. This man is the editor of a world-wide church paper. I wish it were possible for Mr. Wirth and any others who are atheist in belief to hear this talk. He had gone to Russia to visit with and see how his church members were faring over there. His story makes me heartsick. What a vast difference there is in Russia today compared to our own land. We sometimes complain about conditions here. If you want to go to a land of fear, my friend, then visit Russia. Your every move will be watched. The youth of that great country are being taught that there is no God. Yet in spite of it all, the Christian people of that land have In their hearts a great peace. "Perfect love casteth out all fear." Space does not permit me to go into answering Mr. Wirth's arguments here. I wish it were possible for him to go with me to some of the islands of the sea. A few years ago many of these savages there would have eaten you up. Today thousands of these people have a new hope. The message of a true God, a res urrected and living Savior, has changed their entire lives. Why? Because there Is power in Gods word. I might stick my finger in a light socket. I get a shock. Can I see the electricity? I see the trees out side moving from the wind Can I see the wind? No. But I know it's there. The same is with God's power and His spirit. I am just as sure that there is a living God on high as I am that Medford exists. His love has given me a new view on life. Someday soon I expect to see the blessed Son of God come back again as He prom ised. I know He will not disap point me. My prayers are that God will open the eyes of those who disbelieve Him, ere it is forever too late. Henry Johnson Jr 2400 Highway 66 Ashland, Ore. Where Were You? To the Editor: In Mr. Wirth's letter, he says he can not accept the Bible as re liable. Perhaps this is because he has never taken the time to find out what It really says, but like so many people, is content to sit back and listen and believe someone else's theories and suppositions. That is why we have so many different religions, all professing to teach the truth and all disagreeing with one another. Jut !t v.'gs v.'hcn Jesus was on earth, so it is now. (Matt. ch. 15:8.9 1 Tim. 1:6.7 and Rom. 10: 2.3.) Certainly the world of man kind is In a mess, but wasn't it prophesied? (2 Tim. 3:1-5 and James 3:16.17.) The creation is perfect though. This you can see for vourself. Look about you. "(Rom. 1:18-23.) Scientists have tried to dis prove the Bible but have nev er been able to. Geological and archeological findings only tend to prove it. The Bible is like a mine, the deep er you dig the richer the find ings. The letter puts me in mind of a question that was put to Job. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? (Job 38:4.) Mrs. B. Wyatt 1122 Wet Shth tt. Medford delivered away from U.N. headquarters in New York, where a highly-trained corps of special correspondents is stationed for the purpose, among other things, of trans lating diplomatic gobblede gook into everyday language. Major Blame Hammarskjold's Hammarskjold must accept a major share of the blame for the eclipse of the United Nations as a news story. Nobody can challenge the fact that his "quiet diploma cy" of unpublicized man-toman talks has worked in many lnstances-the Suez Canal case not being one of them. But his failure to provide Matter of Fact THE WONDERFUL NEWS Washington - There is also wonderful news in the bad news of the American plane that was shot down in the Soviet Union. To begin with, the Am erican govern ment's nation al intelligence estimates o f the Soviet military pos- josfph alsop ture now nave an entirely new look. For many years after the war, the estimates consistently erred on the optimistic side. The current estimates, of such crucial matters as the number of operational Soviet intercontinental missiles, had a strongly optimistic smell. Those who remembered the past errors, like this reporter, were bound to suspect present errors. But the fate of the U-2 that fell near Sverdlovsk has brok en a great, corrective secret. Over four years ago, the Cen tral Intelligence Agency or ganized systematic overflights of the Soviet land mass, With a bold realism that any sen sible American must admire, the C. I. A. thus began to se cure infinitely more reliable data for the national esti mates. The main cause of the errors of the past were thus eliminated. THIS does not mean, to be sure, that there is no room at all for error in the esti mates. Careful concealment may sometimes succeed, even against all the resources of modern aerial photography. in sub-Arctic Russia, too, the cloud cover is so heavy and permanent that aerial photog raphy is virtually impossible, except with the far less accu rate radar cameras. But it can now be rather safely assumed, all the same, that Nikila S. Khrushchev will not go to the summit with a heavy but hidden advantage in long range rockets or other weap ons. The nightmare of the sum mit has always been that Khrushchev might possess such a hidden advantage. If this had been the case, Presi dent Eisenhower would have found himself playing a life-and-death game with a hand of deuces against a hand of aces suddenly pulled from Khrushchev's sleeve. Unless all the brave men who went before Francis G. Powers have altogether failed, this night mare need not trouble the sleep of the West any longer, THAT is by no means the end of the wonderful news, either. The fate of the U-2 also quite clearly implies that the power-cards the Presi dent still holds - the jet if J? ...,. . , v v -SJX B j, sr . FOR SHEER BEAUTY OF SERVICE- Aaass from HANK MORGAN HAIOIO OAY OH MGHT Ask ut about the OREGON FUNERAL INSURANCE PLAN which e heartily recommend atd ndofie. even the most elementary of basic news to U.N. correspond ents has largely pushed his in ternational organization off the front pages. This despite the repeated assertion by Hammarskjold and his prede cessor, Trygve Lie, that the United Nations could not live without the publicity afforded it by the press. Hammarskjold is off today for talks in London with South African officials on that country's racial segregation policy. Chances are this will yield no more headlines than many of the silent Swede's former "quiet diplomatic" missions. Joseph Alsop bombers of the Strategic Air Command -are still much bet ter cards than the previously known facts appeared to sug gest. Chief anions these facts was the enormous proportion of the enormous Snvipt mili tary budget, reaching as much as per cent of. the total, that has been regularly invested in air defense in all the veara since the war. In view of this gigantic expenditure on air de fense, many experts suspected that SAC's B-52s were losing their capability of penetrating their targets. But it is now clear that ill. Soviets cannot feel any real confidence in their air defense against SAC's bombers. The U-2, it must be remembered, was first produced by Lock- need in IU55. The plane, which is essentially a giant glider powered with a sinole jet engine, has been used for overiiignis ot the soviet land mass for over four v e a r c These U-2 flights through the upper air nave quite certain ly been observed on Soviet radar screens. Until Powers'. unlucky mission, no U-2 was ever Drougnt down. OEGULAR overflights, car ' ricd on for years with perfect impunity, imply a So viet air defense system that Is very weak indeed at high altitudes. The simple fact that Powers's U-2 safely got as far as Sverdlovsk, in the very heart of the Soviet land mass, also implies a Soviet air de. fense system that is still full of exceedingly large holes. The system may be in the process of improvement, with high altitude rockets of the type of the American Nike; but the improvement cannot have got far to date. There are certain inconsis tencies, too, in the technical details of the Soviet story of the fate of Powers's U-2. The way the plane is alleged to have been shot down at 65,000 feet is particularly fishy. It appears much more probable that the U-2's single engine failed, forcing Powers into a gliding descent. This would mean that the U-2 was hit, not at 65,000 feet, but at a very much lower altitude. And if this is true, in turn, the Soviet air defense system Is not mere ly imperfect; it is almost use less against SAC's B-92s. In any case the fate of the U-2 proves to the world that the balance of terror still holds. It has been ihockingly neglected by the present ad ministration. It is beginning to tilt, as Soviet rocket power grows. But for the present, the balance holds. The nature of the proof and the timing of the proof are both regrettable. But the proof Itself is deeply reassuring. Copyright 1960, New York Herald Tribune Lie. 'v- -S Ilia Cowrlfcewia SNODOIASS, FUNCRAl DMCTOai Sri PHONE SP 2-i0 mm I f i IT 1st V ( ) Co o . ( 1 1 :)G 0 0 0
