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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1961)
4 A Medfoi R1B0NB "Everyone in Southern Oregon Reads The Mail Tribune" Published Daily except Saturday by S3 Jorth Fir St.. Ph 8P 3-6141 ' nhnFnf w RUHL. Editor HERB GREY Advenliin Manafel GERA1.D T LATHAM Bu Mgr ERIC W ALLEN JR.. Mng Editor EARL H ADAMS City Editor HinffV rHTPMAN Telee Editor niru&nn .ip.wftt Snorts Editor OLIVE STARCHER Women's Editor DALE ER1CKSON. Ulrcuiajuon wigr An rndftnendVnt Newspaper Bntered as second class matter at . Medford. ureRon. unaer nci u March 3. 1897 QtmsrttlPTION RATES Br Mail In Advance Copy 10c Dally -id Sunday 1 year $1.1 00 Dally and Sunday n tnos o uj rrnilv and Sundav 3 mos 4.25 CunHiu nntv One year $4.20 By Carrier In Advance Medfard Ashland. Central Point Eaale Point. Jacksonville Gold Hill Phoenix. Shady Cove Itorwe Rlv Talant anri nn .AOtOr miltei Dally and Sunday 1 vear 1 00 Dallv and Sunday 1 mo i.nu Carrier and Dears copy loo All Terms casnjn 1y;"c "official Paper of City of Medlar: Official Paper of Jackson County United Press International Full Leased Wire U.P.I. Telephoj;ewsplctures " MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF crRCULATIONS ArlislirTirRenresenttlve: WEST HOLIDAY CCv INC Of 'ices In New York Chicago pe trolt. San Francisco. Los Angeles Seattle. Portland St Louis. At lanta Vancouver. B C. , NEWSPAPER PUIL1SHEJS ASSOCIATION NATIONAl EDITORIAL p"lc6,'f'1 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 March 23, 1951 (Friday) 1 The Medford holcl' new dining room, decorated in a modern theme with Victorian overtones will be opened to firstnighter guests tomorrow. Medford has been granted t w o "standby" television channels, it wag announced in Washington, D.C., by the FCC today; they will be made available when applications are made for their use. 20 YEARS AGO March 23, 1941 (Sunday) Medium - heavy smudging occurred in the pear orchards of the valley Saturday and this morning; a few buds were damaged, but no commercial damage was expected. From Arthur Perry's "Ye Smudge Pol" column: "James Stewart, a $13,000 per monlli movie actor. Is now in the army, at $21 per. He reports he 'is glad of it,' therefore his net happiness is $12,979." 30 YEARS AGO March 23, 1931 (Monday) Ward Howell of Ashland has been named center on Oregon's all-state basketball team'. ' County Agent Robert Fowl er met with biological survey representatives yesterday to plan a program of eradication of ground squirrels in the Rogue valley. 40 YEARS AGO March 23, 1921 (Wednesday) The poultry industry is growing here; one firm ship ped out more than 23,000 eggs In a single week. State milk inspectors have reported that Medford has the best milk in the state. 50 YEARS AGO March 23, 1911 (Thunday) A contract has been let for paving West Jackson st. Forty-six bond houses have applied to purchase $:iB,000 Worth of bonds being issued by the city for sewer and water main extensions. What's Your I.Q.? Nina or ten correct II superior; itven or tight Is escellenr; five or is is good. 1. Supply the missing word In this saying: "It depends upon whose Is gored." 2. Would you guess that Man O' War sired 84, 184, or 284 colts? 3. What is the zodiacal sign for persons born between Dec. 22 and Jan. 23? 4. Number 1600 Pennsyl vania Avenue is the address of which Important place? 3. Locate these football sta diums - Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Cotton Bowl. 6. Is it Jupiter or Saturn Hint is the largest of the plan ets? 7. The noted Carlsbad Cav erns are located In which southwestern state? 8. Was George Eliot the pen name of a man or wom an? 9. The first U. S. census was tabulated in 1790, 1800 or 1810? 10. Bassoon is the name of a type of monkey, musical In strument or receptacle? Aniwart: 1. Ox. 2. 184. 3. Capricorn. 4. Whitt Houst. S. Miami, Fla., Now Orleans, La., Dallas, Tax. 6. Jupiter. 7. New Mexico. 8. Woman. S. 1790. 10. Musical instrument. THURSDAY. MARCH 23. 1S61 Transcontinental Notes-Ill Mastering the intricacies of the New York City subway system is an accomplishment which brings a certain amount of pride. With a few false starts, some puzzlement, some studying of maps and signs, the Medford twosome began to get the hang of it. Our first lesson came on our second morning in Manhattan, as one of us started for Columbia University, at 116th Street, the other for the Hispanic Museum, at 155th. . We started at the worst possible place the Times Square station, which is about as con fusing as any place in the world, what with two separate systems coming together in the midst of a labyrinth of underground passageways on a half-dozen different levels. But we learned to "follow the green lights," and eventually found the right boarding platform, and the right train. X7E PARTED at 116th Street, and the family HEW secretary, after having to transfer at 137th Street, finally made it to the museum, which she found of great interest, with several excellent pieces not too well displayed. The rest of her day also included visits to the Guggenheim and Metropolitan museums (of which more anon). As for the editorial half of the twosome, we wandered through the University bookstore, fin ally finding our way through fusty corridors to the school of journalism, where our assignment was to serve on the screening jury for the 1960 Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism, comprised of 30 newspapermen from all THESE prizes, the most ( - iviic " wi iu ul juui iiaiioiiii aic nuu awaiuu lightly. This is the process: There are awards in eight categories, includ ing editorials, cartoons, photography, meritorious public service, several types oi reporting, and so on. Anyone may make year there was a large The jurors are divided assigned to the eight categories. After the judg ing process, the panels make from two to five recommendations. These recommendations are considered by the advisory board on the Pulitzer Prizes, which in turn makes its final recommendations to the board of trustees of Columbia University, in whose name the prizes are awarded. Winners will be announced May 1. Some are cash awards, some medals ; all of them carry great prestige.; W , ' . ' AT NOON the jurors joined a number of Co "lumbia faculty members for luncheon at the faculty club', and heard brief addresses by.Dr. Grayson Kirk, university president, Dr. Edward W. Barrett, dean of Hohenberg, secretary to T" . T"i 1 i tr :. t VT ur. roiyitarp ivuscn, iNooei prizewinner on me Columbia physics faculty. Dr. Kitsch, incidentally, had some interesting observations about the role of science in today's world, and the role of the journalist in portraying it, which may be discussed here later. Our luncheon table Dean Courtney Brown of the Columbia school of business, Ralph Halford, vice provost of Colum bia, George W. Healy Jr., editor of the New Or leans Times-Picayune, Walter Lister, executive editor of the Philadelphia Bulletin, Paul Svven sson, managing editor of the Minneapolis Star, and Alden C. White, president of the Copley Newspapers of Los Angeles. , AND how did a (relatively) young editor fn a small-town west coast paper happen to chosen to sit in such distinguished company? It was because the men who chose the jury wanted a representative from a small daily paper, on the West Coast, which had in the past itself won a Pulitzer Prize. Thus occurred our good fortune. We are not at liberty to discuss the nomina tions nor the jurying except in every general terms, but we can report that the entries in our category were excellent. The process of decision was a difficult one, but our panel, assigned to editorials, worked harmoniously, and our job was completed that afternoon. Other panels, with more, and more voluminous, entries, worked into the next day. E TAXIED back to " 1J'IVU' ll'hlfh i-tjc m - Park, which was brown and bare and sere at this time of the year, and not at all what we had envisioned it to be. Instead of the smooth lawns, neat landscaping, and evergreen trees one is ac customed to in western city parks, Central Park is rolling, almost hilly, with wild-growing ground cover, lakes, rocky outcroppings, and for the most part, deciduous trees. Also, the remnants of a heavy snowfall of a few days earlier still lay on the ground. Despite the rugged beauty of the park, one never forgets it is in the middle of a huge city, for tall buildings are i and women are warned park alone, particularly HPHE Medford couple, reunited at the hotel, ex - changed the day's experiences, rested briefly, then found a little Mexican restaurant not far ii . 1 1 1 . l 1 ,, away, dined, again walked through T lines Square, and then retired to the rest, reading, and letter ami card writing. At 9:H0, we indulged ourselves in a telephone call to the youngsters at home. The call went through in less than 10 seconds, the connection was excellent, and, after everyone had had a chance to talk, the 3-minute limit had long gone. Since our task was done a day earlier than scheduled, we had one more day than expected for sight-seeing. E.A. parts ot the nation. sought-after honors in a nomination, and this number of entries. into eight panels, and journalism, Prof. John the advisory board, and I. 1 il. companions included om paper Happen to be the hotel j through Central rixi - ll horn onrl cni'n of visible in all directions, . . . , .. never to venture into the at night. hotel for an evening of Dennis the Menace Ct at3W I 1 THINK AW HEARTS OKAY I HEARD MBS. WllSON mi M. WJLSOiV IT WAS IN THE WSHT PitCBS Communications Letters lo tho Editor must bear the nam and address of the writer, although under certain circumstances the us of a pen nam or initial for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribun 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 contrary is often the case. Birth Control To the Editor: One of the greatest and most important issues confronting this coun try, and the whole world too, worse, for that ' matter, in some other parts of the world, is birth control. The world could exist some lime longer with their various systems even if the proper system of birth control were practiced. It is self evident that this fact, if observed to a practical and sensible degree, would re duce poverty in the whole world to a minimum. H is a fact that the world's food and other needs for a happy living are increasingly diminishing throughout the world, and il has a limit to it. And it is possible that the world's population can be adjusted lo that limit, but only by a sensible system of birth control. If not, there could be a terrible result, and birth control could be confined to certain countries, but not to such successful degree. World co-operation would be neccs1 sary to be a complete success and I hope that to this end it should be advocated in all countries and in all languages II would not be amiss to give a few examples of birth control. Take the farmer, for instance. His common sense won't permit him to breed more brood sows than he can lake care of, nor more cattle than he has pasture for, or more poultry than he can take care of, the same way the parents that have too big a family can't do Justice in their up-bringing. It is a sad in stance for both parents and child. On the other hand per- hups two or three children would be a great Joy, in some instances no children at all. Too many children result in a burden on society, to themselves, and promote pov erty and crime and require both charity and penal insti tutions, and otherwise impose a hardship on society. Now this is not a very hopeful problem to anticipate, but it stares us in the face, and 1 would like to have people with some influence along these linos to be encouraged. J. P. Wirth 3022 Butte st. Klamath Falls, Ore. Ordinance Unconstitutional? To the Editor: The follow ing Is a copy of a letter to the Jacksonville city council and think II concerns every citizen In the Stale of Oregon even though they do NOT live - Jacksonville . . jHCKsonviue, urc. Gentlemen: I must make due allowance for the possi bility the Medford Mail Trib une may not have given an accurate account of an ordi nance regulating firearms in the City of Jacksonville. Con sequently my opinions may be in error. The account in the Medford ! Mail Tribune stated in part. "It shall he unlawful for any person lo carry, transport, or possess any firearm, pellet I gun, air ride, air pistol or I niiiirr Kun wiucn is loancci or ls , ,ui.h Ootiduio that it can be immediately fired.' It appears to me that thej,na, in .hewing them 'to prate .rtieic i. section 27 of the constitution of the state of Oregon which states. "The people shall nave the riant to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state May 1 suggest we pick the quotation nf the above ordi nance apart. 1 II has been my under standing that within the laws of the State of Oregon that any citizen over the age of 18 u seems to me that a Corn years may carry a pistol orjmunist would trv to be Just ride provided it be in plain j as obnoxious as' possible in sight of other people. Yet the j order to Incite Americans to report of your ordinance tn desert their svstem of civil Ihe Mail T ribune would even I liberties in order to persecute t MfcUruHD necessarily represent the views of the paper; in fact in prohibit the carrying of these weapons. 2- The account in the Med ford Mail Tribune next quot ed the word "transport." Ob viously this would prohibit transportation of these weap ons in an automobile, aircraft, buggy (horse drawn), etc., etc. And it appears this too is in violation of the Oregon Con stitution. 3- One of the most impor tant prohibitions of this ordi nance listed in the Mail Trib une ls "possession" and it does appear this would prohibit keeping any of these weapons in one's own home (or place of business) if it were ready to fire. Obviously the weapon would be useless if empty and could not be used for defense unless the owner were able to convince a housebreaker or any other person threatening the safety of occupants of home or place of business, it was loaded. Supreme Court Justice Wil liam McAllister stated in a letter to me that the Supreme Court will do nothing "until someone is arrested." Natural ly one would not like to be Jailed or fined, but if I could test this ordinance in another manner and . thus force the Supreme Court to act, I'd be willing to act as 'guinea pig.' I still say this ordinance is unconstitutional. Floyd Ft. McCabe ... Mt. Pitt Star Route Butte Falls, Ore. Life Elsewhere? To the Editor: One of Amer ica's leading outer space scientists has made the star tling discovery of probable life on other planets by the analysis and chemical tests of ashes often associated with stone and mineralized meteors falling to earth from time im memorial. That general assumption Is most likely a statement that proves that there is phy sical life on other planets be sides earth, as there assured ly must be life or else why would there only be barren planets to clutter up space in as vast a circle of creation as the "Milky Way" galaxy? As with all physical phe nomena, only theories are as sumed by astronomers until true facts can be proven, ac cording to science. As one noted scientist stated, the com ing great discoveries to be marie will be In the spiritual realm of the unseen laws ot nature. Bert Kissinger. 520 Boardman at., Medford. Toleration, Not Martyrdom To the Editor: Helen B. Townscnd of Eagle Point ex pressed disgust, in your col umns, that the Communist Party in America should be so free to operate that it could flaunt a picture of its newly elected chairman before other Americans. She also was disturbed that present laws protect Commu nists. 1 have no sympathy for the misguided lunatic fringe in America which would substi tute the Communist system (or ours; but it seems to me publicly, we show our superi orlty In contrast with their (earful oppression of those who express divergent opin ion. As for our laws protecting Communists. It must be re membered that the same laws protect other, legitimate, mi nority interests. They arise from our Constitution -the real fountain of strength In our country. MAIL 'imouHL, lit,Lr UHU, Coexistence at Work Of Iraq by ' Bv PHIL NEWSOM UPI Foreign Newt Analyst Perhaps no better examples of Nikita Khrushchev's theory of eo-existencj? at work can be JMIVn seen than in his treatment 3f nt Iran For at the core of his theory is his belief, for which he draws support from Lenin that middle class leaders play an important role only in the early stages oi national ist movements and must in- evitably be replaced later by Communist leadership emerg ing from the dissatisfied mass es below. So, the apparent conflict in Communist strategy in Iraq which still is in the compara tively early stages of revolu tion. The Communist newspaper Literary Gazette in Moscow him. Then the Communists who followed him would find it easier to offer a system de void of civil liberties. On the other hand, I should think a Communist would dis like nothing more than being ignored, or worse, tolerated. I think that if we hold firm to our free system, tolerating the screwballs instead of mak ing martyrs of them, we'll never see communism get anything approaching a foot hold in this country. Ken Johnson, 1150 Shamrock St., Salem, Ore. Right of Protest To the Editor: One of the great foundation stones of our Republic is our privilege of free speech. Most privileges imply a responsibility-in this case it is an obligation to lis ten. After listening-and this does not mean just waiting until your opponent is through gabbling-the next step is to refute his argument in reason able statements. There have been uncounted letters in the past protesting this or that T.V. or radio pro gram; recently a letter pro testing trading stamps. The former have been informed ad nauseum of the little but ton marked "OFF." The latter has been told that she has the option of saying "no thanks." It is doubtful if these help ful hints were news to the re cipients. And the whole point of free speech and reasonable argument or persuasion was completely ignored. Protest is everyone's right. Our world would be a sorry thing-in fact, our country would be non-existen!-if the dissenters had all said "no thanks" or turned the switch off. Or turned their backs and said nothing. Polly Mammons, Star Route, Box 540, Shady Cove, Ore. "Babysitting"? To the Editor: Any parent of a young child is likely lo hire a babysitter. But I won der if there is another irriga tion district in the state of Oregon, or in the United Slates, other than the Eagle Point Irrigation District, cm ploying a babysitter who is paid out of tax funds. In 1959. the EPID manager hired Hubert A. Smith and Mrs. Grace Kelley at SI. 25 an hour and paid them $311. 89 from Aug. 26 lo Dee. 10 out of EPID funds for "B.S. Duty" or "Babysitting." In July. 19B0. Mrs. Hubert A. Smith took over the baby sitting duty, for which the District paid her $63.75. (Meanwhile Mgr. Silveira com plained the District couldn't afford to hire another ditch rider lo speed up Irrigation.) Twice thereafter, Mrs. Smith babysat. On Aug. 3 ($6.25); on Nov. 18. I960 ($4.38). Payroll claim vouchers make no references to baby sitting duty. Neither do the checks, nor the check register, nor the payroll book. The Irrigation District budg et shows no fund budgeted or earmarked B.S. Duty or Baby silting, but if you're persist ent, and keep looking until you find the time sheets, lo and behold: "B.S. Duty" and "Babysitting " Since no fund is set up or burigeled or earmarked baby sitting, from what account is it paid? The answer is even more startling! It's EPID Accl. No. 61": "Equipment repair and yard labor." (No- the babysitters do not repair equipment or perform yard ! labor-or any labor ) i When Mrs. Thelma Short resigned her EPID post at noon Nov 22. infiO, effective. immediately - thereafter the: r babysitting ceased. (Perhaps Editor s note: Mrs. Todd Cavanagh former vice nre-i . P y ,0n!C momenl the "Equipment Repair and! claims that the "babv ' in-: dent of thr. n. t,...., . ,not J"' 'or the administration Yard Labor" fund had beenjvolvcd was her-that people exhausted ) were hired to be In the office Sound incredible? Unforti-l while at VrMt. OHE Russia's Nikita Khrushchev ini..nt:rt ta Mirca , crlf the Irani Comiv may, as it did, bitterly attack Iraqi Premier Abdul Kassem for death sentences handed a group of Communists by an Iraqi military court. . Russian Financing At the same lime, Khrush chev may, as he has, approve huge Soviet loans to Iraq and send in Polish and Czech ad visers to assist the Kassem government in an expensive five-year program to double the amount of land under irri gation. Soviet and Czech aid will account for $190 million of the cost. As Kassem has walked the tight rope of Iraqi and Middle East politics, his relations with the Soviet Union and the Communist party inside Iraq have been of special interest. From the date of the Iraqi revolution on July 14, 1958, until May 23, 1959, the Com munists operated with such freedom and influence both in and out of the government that predictions freely were made that Iraq soon would be wholly within the Soviet orbit. In March 1959 occurred the Mosul revolt which the Kas sem government blamed on President Abdul Gamal Nas ser of the U.A.R. and which was followed by a massive Communist-led puree in which as many as 15,000 persons were arrested. Change of Altitude In April, the Communists demanded a place in a "popu lar front" government and arms for their "popular resis tance" forces. Then, in May, Kassem for the first time rebuked the Communists and warned them Today & Tomorrow By Walter THE VOTE ON ANGOLA In African affairs, two sep arate but parallel and similar and historical events took place last week. One was the refusal of the n a lions to con done the ra cial policy of apartheid i n order to keep tile Union of Lippmann South Africa in the Common wealth. The other was the vote of the United Slates, dif fering openly with its NATO allies, for an inquiry by the UN into the Portguese colo nial policy in Angola. In both cases the decision was a very hard one to take whether to risk the unity of the Commonwealth, whether to risk the unity of NATO, on a question of principle. In both cases there was the same decision - by the eignt nations that if the Common wealth was to be preserved, it could not condone apar theid, by the United States thai NATO and even the UN itself would be gravely jeop ardized if the NATO nations aligned themselves in support of colonialism. THERE are some who think 'pHERE 1 that could have, and should have, avoided the decision. It could have abstained, that is it could have declined to vote, as it did under the Eisenhow er administration last Decem ber. But could the United States have done that now? Is ab stention, a refusal lo vote in order to evade a hard issue, a workable policy for a great power which holds the place we hold in the leadership of the non-Communist world? The Eisenhower abstention of last December could at least be justified as a stop gap measure in the closing days of an administration. The new Kennedy administration could not take refuge in the evasion of an issue which in volves the destiny of Africa and Asia and affects profound ly the peace of the world. When the issue is posed nakedly as it is in Angola, where it is the policy of the colonial power not to prepare the colony for independence, how could the United States refuse to declare itself? Had we done that, we would by ; ; Mum- hid,, .... v...,. w.. r abstention have abdicated r influence. For had we ou abstained, we would have."""1" "ieo. in me no- identified NATO with colon ialism, and the Soviet Union would have stood out as the only great power In the white man's world which took the other side. What is more, we would have supported Portu- nately. it's all too true. The EPID records speak for them- selves. Ann Todd. Crater Lake Highway, Eagle Point. Ore. O Seen in Treatment against obstructing the course of the revolution. Kassem placed several Com munist army officers under house arrest, ordered the resis tance movement under army control and fired his pro-Communist minister of agrarian reform. Finally, reportedly on or ders from Khrushchev him Matter of Fact sy Joseph aisop BEHIND THE PUBLIC FACE Washington - The public face of the Kennedy adminis tration continues to be san guine, eupep tic, and un troubled. But the public face only con ceals the ten- V sion that is now mounting behind the scenes at the White House, the State De Alsop partment, and the Defense Department. The eupeptic face presented to the world is the result of the President's sensible wish to exhaust all the possibilities of traditional diplomacy be fore taking any drastic, open action in the Laos crisis. Out ward calm is needed to give traditional diplomacy a chance. But tension is mounting be hind the scenes, precisely be cause of the increasing possi bility that traditional diplo macy will not produce the de sired minimum result in Laos. This crisis, which still seems so infinitely remote to most Americans, has in fact been the President's primary pre occupation throughout all of Uppmann guese colonialism not boldly by voting against the resolu tion but timidly ,and apolo getically by refusing to vote at all. What an "image" that would have been of the "lead ership" of the "free world!" THE question has been -- raised as to whether this American vote means that the development of Africa has now taken priority over the consolidation and stabilization of Europe. It is an understand able question, and undoubted ly there is a certain differ e n.c e of emphasis between those who arc preoccupied with African affairs. But the truth is that our concern with Europe and our concern with Africa are not competitive. They are complementary. Unless Europe becomes a more powerful and flourishing community of nations, the re sources cannot be found to finance the development of Africa. And unless the Euro peans and the North Ameri cans are able jointly and sev erally to promote the peace ful development of Africa, the future is very dangerous in deed. The unity of the West is gravely menaced by the con vulsive problems of Africa, be it in Algeria, the Congo, South Africa, or Angola. ' THE American view, which is not sufficiently under stood in Europe, is that the liquidation of empires is al ways a great danger to the peace. The seed beds ot the two world wars were in the liquidation of the Turkish, the Austro-Hungarian. and the Czarist empires. In the Amer ican view the liquidation of the African empires, which is very tar from being complet ed, is in this are of nuclear armaments a very great threat to peace. Our view is that if we and the Europeans are to achieve a constructive influ ence in African affairs, it can be done only throuvh the medium of the United Na- Hons. That is the only torumlone knows how Khrushchev wincn me oio colonial pow- win react to Gromyko's rc ers, the newly liberated na- Part on his meeting with tions, the Soviet Union, and Rusk. the United States can meet: In 'these circumstances, the and deal with one another increase of tension behind the in the context of the law of scenes is nm lo h ,vr,nrfrH the Charter Our European allies must not underestimate the weight and the seriousness of the American judgment in this af- ...... iiui tti.-.uiiiu ny a : . , i ' cnep altPl to win voles I ; m "f1- r n it. though it j , .j . . ' ve uo-1 inc point is that the Rusk ? 1 f"i f "!e ':ld ora-! to Gromyko - to-Khrushchrv ors. This Judgment, ot which transmission is just about the the vote on Angola is a ,ym. j last chance for traditional di k1 ' ,ITC U s fT " so" I P'omy- H that fails, the na- LhZ "IVliT!"!.' aikcd fhoi" n no longer be ....... ,..... iwo.avoiaea between a disguised t . iwN.-iuim; IQr worldwide coalition, (c) 1961 New York Herald Tribune Inc. GETS PAPAL AUDIENCE Vatican City-W-Pope John ! j XXIII Wednesday received m ! audience Father ' ing Corp. ot America Cjv' Unagh became a priest 'sah.r I ' day at the age of 53 calur" self, the Iraqi Communist par ty abjectly condemned itself for "criminal acts, emotional ism and miscalculations." The ostentatious love affair between Kassem and the Com munists was over, but as Kas sem treads a dangerous path toward "positive neutrality" Khrushchev's long-range aims remain the same. the last hard-driving fort night. A kind of concealed test of will between John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrush chev has been the main theme of the drama, but the much too successful Communist mil itary offensive in Laos has been a crucial subsidiary theme. THE test of will began on -- Thursday, March 9, when the U. S. Ambassador to Mos cow, Llewellyn Thompson Jr., met with Khrushchev in Si beria. On the subject of Laos, Thompson told Khrushchev, first, that the American gov ernment could not tolerate a Communist takeover there, but second, that the American government was not averse to a genuinely neutral Laotian regime on the Cambodian model. Khrushchev appeared to respond satisfactorily, re portedly citing his own with drawal of Soviet troops from Austria. On the same Thursday, March 9, at an historic White House meeting, President Kennedy coolly approved a 17-item program of precau tionary actions to safeguard the future of Laos. The aim was to be ready for the possi ble failure of Thompson's dip lomatic initiative. The actions ranged from immediate steps to give more military aid to the non-Communist Laotians, all the way to legistical prep aration for military interven tion there. Almost concurrently, the Communist forces in Laos made the guerrilla-into-infan-try conversion predicted in this space, and they at once launched a rather major mili tary offensive. This has had such success that there is now some question whether the royal capital, Luang Prabang, is in danger of being cap tured by the Communists. THE diplomatic process, bc-- t w e e n Washington and Moscow, between President Kennedy, Prime Minister Mac millan, and Gen. de Gaulle, even between Washington and New Delhi, has meanwhile continued unceasingly. One result was a warning from Indian Prime Minister Jawa harlal Nehru to Khrushchev that the U. S., for good or ill, meant business about Laos. Another, even more impor tant result was the interview with Secretary of State Dean Rusk which was recently re quested by Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. There was some hope, before Gromyko reached Washington for his luncheon and talk with Rusk, that he had been au thorized by his government to negotiate a Laotian settle ment. Instead, Gromyko played the old Soviet gramophone record, and then listened to Secretary Rusk again repeat ing that the U. S. meant busi ness about Laos. The inten tion of Gromyko s visit, quite obviously, was to take anoth er reading on whether the U. S. really did mean busi ness. If Gromyko is capable of being impressed by plain words, earnestly spoken, he must have sent back an un palatable report to the Krem lin. AT THIS stage, in summary, the military situation in Laos is bad already and may begin to deteriorate rather rapidly at any moment. The logistical preparations for ac tion to prevent a Communist takeover in Laos have been going forward with efficient speed sincp Ma me lension would be far more feverish, if it were not for the notable tendency in the Kennedy administration, even among the more excit- au p anH m, ninnnnj nrr:.:.i. "H',v"nii;u ui MiIB i. to place an almost blind faith in the President's decisions. whatever they may be. out decisive surrender In Laos or a series of grimly risky moves which will vastly raise the stakes in the Laotian game. As the President shows d sg is"d can "cat no inclination for surrender. or otherwise, this rpntnnal.lt- Un 1 loci r u , . e rid. (c) 1961 New York Herald Tribune Inc. s i
