t id-.
4 A
1 C?0RlCiIW1lIB0W
-gvryona In Southern OrefOQ
; : K;Adi The mil Tribune" :
lybluhtd Dally except Saturday by
i 1 North Mr St.. Ph. SP S-6141
POBERT W RUHL. Idltor
r - GKIY. AdverUiim Manager
i KALD T. LATHAM, Bus. Mgr.
iCW. ALXJCN JR.. Mni. Idltor
! .RL H ADAMS, City Editor '
; -trow
1 LIVE r ARCHER. Woman'! Editor
1 ALE, IrUCKaoN. circuiauon Mr,
An Independent Newiptper
. gatored u lecond clasi matter at
Medford, oral on, under AM 01
j March 3. 1897 ,
' e armRrnTPTirtN ratkh
' iBr-Mall In Advance. Copy 10c
Dally and Sunday-1 year SH.OO
...ualiy ana Bunaay moa.
S.00
?(! and Sundavl IBM 4..S5
J Sunday Only Ona year S4.J0
By ' Carrleiwln Advance Medford
' .Athland, Central Point Eagle
' Point Jacksonville, Oold H1U,
-'; phoenix, Shady Cova, Rogue Hiv
1 jr, Talent ana on motor route),
Dally and Sunday 1 year $18.00
v 'Daily and sunaay l mo. i.ou
, ..Carrier and Dealert copy 10c
au Terma caan in Advance
' "Stntlal Paper of City ef'Medford
Official Paper of Jackion County
ilted Preai International
., Tuu Leased wire
r P.P.I. Telephoto Newaplcturee
r!5acJBHR or AUDIT BUREAU
or ciki;uiatiuwb y
... .WIST HOLIDAY .CO., IN0, 01-
flcae In New rone, cnicato, ue.
:v -4t-ntt Sn Tranctaeo. Loa Ana-ales.
BwtUa. Portland, St. Loud,. At.
la a, Vancouver. B.C.. ....
rums Hiit
ASSOCIATION
IONU fOITORIAl
;!:::.! o' Tims
Radford snd Jackson County
History from trie tiles of The
Ml Tribune .10, 20, 30, 40
ni SO war go. :..' "'. ''"
19 fEARI AGO 7 ''Vyy.,,;;.
' jrjl 12, IBS! (Thursday).
" 1 A (light Improvement In th
' ttndar-dry heat wave that has
Washington the past week was
forecast today by the Medford
:weatiir bureau. ... y 'i
, f Sixteen copies of a petition
Mek'nf completion of an east
west atate secondary-highway
f nk'r. Roacburg -with Klam
i h ails were submitted this
eti to the state highway
i ' ilon.
' ', 1141 (Saturday)
lord High, school's
( ) ulnailon of the
1 n'nya was
1 fcy
-"..hills
j v t fjrests
. . i inei It , j a inoat a wild
' Hi in Uis cities and sub-
' ) YEAK1 AQO
. rUlt, 1IS1 (Suadar)
' i There seems to be little In
i rest In city bond Issue eleo-
t on. to finance the purchase
cl property lor the new coun
ty courthouse and' new Wash
ington school-grounds.
lA'. $150,000 Improvement
program at the Oregon State
penitentiary In Salem Is sched
tiled; to start soon.
40 YEARS AGO
April 12. 1921 (Tuaiday)
' .Local real estate men met
' here- recently for the purpose
of forming a Jackson county
organization: '
.Ben C. Sheldon has been
elected president of the Med
ford Chamber of Commerce.
80 YEARS AGO ...
April 12, 1911 (Wednesday)
'The Rogue River Valley
Fruit and Produce association
has changed Its rules to pro
vide for two grades of fruit -extra
fancy and choice - In
stead of three grades. Fancy
fruit was eliminated, v .
-A local firm has announced
plans to conduct auto sight
seeing trips in the valley this
summer. , . 1
VYhsl's Your I.Q.?
Nfae ar ten correct Is auserior)
Sevan ar elht is excellent! five er
la is tee'.
;1. Who first proposed the
European Recovery Plan?
2. Is a picaroon a type of
cdokle, horse, or thief?
3. The u. S. Supreme Court
never renders advisory opin
ions; true or false?
4. What government agency
Issues copyright certificates?
:9. In which year did the
Boxer Rebellion occur?
8. Name the painter noted
for his famous "Blue Boy."
i l. In which Government
agency is the Bureau of Cen
sus? ..
, 3. Name the capital of
Haiti. V
B. A "southpaw" . pitcher
throws balls with which arm?
JO. Would a fatuous person
be- a stout person, or a fool
ish person?
: -Answers! 1. George, C. Mar-
brary of Congxvd, t. 1900.
Thomas Gainsborough . 7,
Department of Commerce. I.
Prt-au-Prinee. 9. Left 10.
Feoilsh person.
Tot the first time inflatory,
margarine production exceed
ed that of butter during 1958.
WEDNESDAY. APRIL 12, 1961
i4 Le
i When the Harold Smith family moved to
town 13 months ago, they had a mixed reception.
Some people, at first, tried to make life mis
erable lor them.
Others went out of their way to try to be kind
and helpful.
The fact that thd Smiths are Negroes account
ed ior au tne luss.' : -1
Now, after 13 months, all the fuss and dis
turbance and excited
talk, seem almost laughable, in retrospect.
THEY are leaving town this week, and there
QVA WlOnir allXOr vitVi .r!11 vtinn lltnvM
....nic. limiij, ouictjr, WliU, Will IIXIOO UlClli.
Mr. Smith's colleatrues at the weather bureau.
where he compiled an excellent record, and made
many mends, will miss
Mrs. Smith's friends in their church, where
she was active in the choir, will miss thdm. So
will those who worked
nuur m me uuiary, in wiucn mrs. cmiui par
ticipated. ; . '
bo will the neigbhors, who found the 'Smith
M A V -'1 TiJ.
lamnv w De eooa ciuzens. line neooie. ana warm
friends. Little Robin, aged 4, was herself respon
sible .for a lot of this friendly neighborhood
AT FIRST,- some of the neighbors ; allowed
tt themselves to be scared by the old wives tales
about property values declining, and so on and
so -on-r-alf the old, familiar, hateful stories that
are based on the discredited theory that one man
is better than another because of the color of his
skin .
But they- learned differently. 'And the latter
part of the family's stay
little more than the calm
which is brought about
Sianaing. , . . . : t ." --.)..
; The asininities of racial prejudice die, hard,
sometimes. But thev do
neaos, and hearts. , v . .-, .
OUR good wshes go with the Smiths.
Thev will soon be arriving in Kingston. Ja
maica, British West Indies, Where Mr Smith has
been assigned to a highly responsible position as
the sole U, S,. weather bureau representative. ' .
y He will han'dle some technical training duties,
inter-governmental ; liaison, 'administration, and
other, chores, with- the imposing title of super-
L 1 1 I l1.il.!.. , . '
yiDuiy ineieuiuiugicai muimciaii. ,-;
It is a challenging job: he faces,-one he has
earned through-his own ability, and we wish him
Well. ; , ' r ..',U:-V-V- r:r
THUS is a lesson learned. -i-j r
TWnlf iis4 rti lrtriii Vt o o ' vaiifofirt oa A 4fTM
where Negroes are "not
down town, where colored people are "moved
Perhaps we are beginning to grow but of this
trnte-bellum provincialism. Perhaps -a few more
of us xare' ready to accept people for what they
are, in heart and soul and mind, rather than by
ine coior oi mm or nair.
: Let us hope so, at any rate. For. with, the
shifting tides of population it is inevitable that
people of races and colors other than; Caucasian
will become our neighbors over the months and
years ahead. ; , ,. ; ' ,
Let us hope that, in addition to being neigh
bors, We can also learn to look on them as friends.
. ii. i ,. . i i
Simplifying Taxation
V " y ' i" -'.-V? : !y:V ,: v i
One of the editorial writers on the Eutrene
RegisterGuard comes up with an excellent ques
tion.' y ' " ,
Why', he asks, should
our property tax liability in mills, when it would
be far more understandable to. do so in simple
percentages? ' . v;-v- ... ,.,
' , A mill, he points out, is one-tenth of a ceftt,
but'Dl'obablv fewer than l'-nerson in 10 under
stands that a 1-miil change in his property tax
is the same as a change of one-tenth of ,1' per
cent or that a tax rate of 100 mills is the same
thing as a 10 per cent tax oh the assessed value
of his property. - j .
y. a a ., e . e . : . ;. l- f
IT IS confusing, to say the least.
1 (We still remember, with discomfort, one
time when a decimal got shifted one digit the
wrong way, and a tax story came out 10 per cent
off in its figures.) - : y . y . ;
I tie uuard writer adds: y -
."Why don't we do here in Orecon as some
other states have already done? Why don't we
measure our property tax rates in terms of per
centage? Why not en a bit further and make
these rates applicable against market values
rather than some arbitararily selected fraction
itne "assessed valuation") of those values? . ;. .
. "Adoption of simpler tax computation sys
tems would have one important effect, we're sure.
Citizens hollering about their taxes would then
have a fairly good idea of what they were holler
ing about. There might be less hollering, as many
of them came to realize that they were paying
less, in valid percentage terms, than they thought
they were paying under big two-figure or even
three-figure millage rates." - , .,
THERE may be some valid reason why property
tavQtinvi ohmill Yit 1 U J ;M nA-,nllA-lnJ
obfuscation, involving millages and assessed val
uations instead of simple percentages of time
value.
But if there are, we don't know what they are.
And we join with the Guard in feelinor that
anything which makes taxation simpler; less com
plex, and easier for all of us to understand, is
all to the good. E.A. -
5501
and sometimes venomous
him. , ;
with the children's story
I.! .1 . 1
t" 7 y.
here was marked with
and friendly acceptance
by f amiliarity, and under-
die. if people keen their
accepted"; as. a "sun
we continue to measure
Dennis the Menace
t 1.'!
f-r? -" i
Ati THEM YA UXK UP AT
Communications
Lettera to the Editor must bear the
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or Inllal
for publication Is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensaton. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words .The letters
printed In his column do not necessarily represent the views of the
paper; In fact the contrary Is often the ease. .
The Cost of Poetry -
To tne Editor: Noted a re
cent article, in the Tribune,
announcing an adult evening
school class teaching poetry,
This is a fine hobby, and It
is spring when : the rash
breaks . out. : But to teach it
at the taxpayers' expense lacks
pertinence-taking for granted
there is a cost. Surely a more
important study could, be
found, even, for adults bet
ter yet, direct this effort to
youngsters who need extra in
struction, i l
Gene Maltby, .-.'
' 4089 Pacific Highway So.
' . Medford.. " . " :
''- : ... ; O '-
Editor's note: This Glass Is
not taught at taxpayers' ex
pense, It is financed by tuition
fees charged those taking the
course. The same is true of
other courses in the adult ed
ucation program. If any class
lacks enough members to sup
port it financially, it is
dropped from the curriculum,
Speak Out y: .v
. .To the Editor: ; U is my
opinion that if the press of
this nation (including the Mail
Tribune) would- speak out
against communism ; as vehe
mently as it has against such
anti-communist groups as the
House Un-American Activities
Committee and the John Birch
Society, the people of the Free
World would be more assured
of their chances of remaining
free. y. ; - ..-y - v .' c
Glenn A. Archibald
534 DeBarr ave.
' , Medford, - ' ,
Proud of Fooilighters
To the Editor: Recalling
that we did not enjoy the
movlp version of '.'Glass Me
nagerie" some years ago,- we
were 'reluctant to attend the
recent Pootlighters - p 1 a y.
Then,- overcome by! curiosity
as to what a little .theater
group could do -with such a
psychological drama, we at
tended and were unduly Im
pressed. Cheryl Bulger's Interpreta
tion ' of the shy, : crippled
daughter was outstanding. In
her scenes with the mother,
her voice, glance, twisting
hands, all gave that impres
sion of half-fear and half-love
she felt for this overly domi
nant force in her life. The
performance wait sensitive to
a fine degree.
- The monologues, tying the
scenes together,' were very ef
fectively done by Alvln Reiss.
. The taxing role of the
mother was well done by
Bette Lu Foster.
The warmth and outgoing
nature of the "gentleman call
er" was well expressed by Dr.
Laurence Ware.
Glen G. Foster, the director,
did an excellent job of this
and I think the people of this
area can be proud of our Foot
lighters. Mrs. Elizabeth E. Miller,
- Trail,. Ore. ,
Pear Blossom Parade
To the Editor: As the mar
shal of the recently staged
1961 Pear Blossom Parade, I
would appreciate the use of
your letters column to express
a word of sincere thanks, not
only to the financing bodies
that made the parade a possi
bility and to the hundreds of
participants, but also to the
Medford . Police Department
for their , assistance and co
operation; the members of the
Junior Chamber of Commerce
who so ably assisted in the
lineup and marching progress
of the many units; to the vol
unteers from the Rogue River
Council 1994, Knights of Co
lumbus, who patrolled the pa
rade route to lend a hand it
necessity called, and most
especially to the bands.
The young people who com
prise the bands from Central
Point, Medford, Talent and
Phoenix deserve the largest
round of applause. They ad
ded the zest' that every parade
requires to make It a parade.
MEDFOHD MAIL
THE SKY AN'VELL OH.NO!"
name and address of the wrirer.
I overheard many many com
pliments ranging , from com
ments on uniforms; costumes
for the occasion; their deport
ment; their stirring marches
and extraordinary perform
ances and for .the fact that
they took their time on a
school holiday to bring that
added color to our parade. To
their directors and to every
young man and young lady in
each of the bands we give a
rousing cheer.
My job In this year's festi
val did not bring me in con
tact with every phase of the
operation but we certainly do
feel obligated and thankful to
each and every one who
helped to make 1961 an out
standing Pear Blossom Parade
year. '
Lastly, to the Mall Tribune,
and in the boldest of type.'
THANKS for an advertising
JOD well done.
Bill Dugan
Medford. .'
Taxes . '
To the Editor: A lady's re
marks concerning taxes in
Communications a short time
ago brought to mind the fol
lowing' poem in the scrap
book which shows that taxes
were a popular topic 50 or so
years ago:
Tax the people, tax with care,
To Kelp the multi-millionaire.
Tax the farmer, tax his fowl,
Tax the dog and tax his howl.
Tax his hen, and tax her egg.
And let the bloomin' mudsill
beg.
Tax his pig and tax his squeal.
Tax his boots, run down at
neel. , yy - y
Tax his horses, lax his lands,
Tax the blisters on his hands.
Tax his plow, and tax his '
clothes, .
Tax the rag that wipes his
nose.
Tax his house and tax his bed,
Tax the bald spot on his head.
Tax the ox. and tax the ass.
Tax his 'Henry,' tax his gas,
Tax the road that he must
pass, .
And make him travel o'er the
grass. - :
Tax his cow, and tax his calf,
Tax him if he dares to laugh.
He is but a common man, so
Tax the cuss just all you can.
Tax the lab'rer, but be dis
creet ,.y .;. .,
Tax him for walking on the
street.
Tax his bread, and tax his
meat,
Tax the shoes clean off his
feet.
Tax the payroll, tax the sale.
Tax the hard earned paper
kale;
Tax his pipe, and tax his
smoke,
Teach him gov'ment is no
joke.
Tax their coffins, tax their
shrouds, .
Tax their souls beyond the
clouds.
Tax all business, tax the shop,
Tax their incomes, tax their
stocks.
Tax the living, tax the dead,
Tax the unborn, 'ere they're
fed.
Tax the water, tax the air,
Tax the sunlight If you dare.
Tax them all, and tax them
well,
Tax them to the gates of hell.
But close your eyes, so you
can't see,
The coupon clipper go tax
free, y
(Don Lupton, Denver Post)
Nellie Rose
Route 2, Box 103
Jacksonville, Ore.
BUYS FAMOUS SIGN
New York -lUPO- The nearly
300-year-old signature of But
ton Gwlnnett. a Georgia sign-
r of the Declaramtion of In
dependence, sold for $6,000
Tuesday. The signature, which
appeared on a colonial deed
dated March 11, 1773, was
purchased by the Carnegie
book store here.
TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. ORE.
Laotian Soldier Dislikes Death; Wishes
Both Sides Would Take War Elsewhere1
By PHIL NEWSOM
UPI Foreign News Analyst
The Laotian soldier has
shown a marked distaste for
violent death.
i In this, he displays a char
acteristic com
mon to most
intelligent
men.
, But in a na
tion wracked
'1 'vil war,
Bues between
two bitterly
opposed phi-
1 o s o phies at
stake, he also shows no great
desire to inflict punishment
on or to subdue his enemies.
In the administrative capi
tal of, Vientiane along : the
muddy Mekong River, life
goes on as if there were no
war less than 40 miles to the
north, . - . y,
Despite reports of fierce
clashes, the war Itself seems
a haphazard affair involving
a few pieces of artillery, some
outmoded airplanes and spor
adic clashes over such unlike
ly place names as Van Vieng,
fhaom and the Plain of Jars.
In Vientiane, ''the saffron
robes of hundreds of Buddhist
monks. mingle with the drab
In the Day's News
By FRANK UNIONS -
From Salem: . y
The annual convention of
the Oregon Young Democrats,
which was held In Salem on
Saturday night, 'wti ad
dressed by Governor Grant
Sawyer, of Nevada. He told
his hearers that elected. demo
cratic officials who do not
support their party should
not be permitted to hold posi
tions of LEADERSHIP in the
party.
He added:
"Democrats who join with
the Republicans to foster a
coalition leadership do great
damage to the cause of posi
tive and progressive leader
ship within a state. We
should not reward these peo
ple for their support of the
Republicans." '
f!HE Kalprrt 'Hlsnntrih ronntf.
ing the speech closed with
tne statement tnat Senator
Harry Boivln of Klamath
county frowned frequently at
Governor Sawver's rcmarka
whereas Senator Robert
Straub of Lane county, a lib
eral, joined the applause.
COMMENT? .
, , . Well, for the immediate
purpose of this discussion it
might be well to explain that
AS OF NOW conservatives
tend to support spending less
of the taxpayers' money, so
that our' present staggering
debt may be kept from get
ting bigger and more, stagger
ing with the hope that
eventually the debt may be
reduced, so that the burden
of It Will not be so oppressive.
As of now, the liberals pro
pose to spend whatever may
be necessary to BRING
ABOUT THEIR OBJEC
TIVES one of their objec
tives, of course, being to re
main in power, so that 'they
will be in a position-to do
what they conceive to be the
right thing to do. ,
T ET'S put it this way:
Our political parties are
presently split two ways up-and-down
and crosswise.
There are conservatives and
there are "liberal" Republi
cans. There are conservative
Democrats and there are "lib
eral" Democrats.
Obviously, in such a situa
tion, there can be little SIN
CERITY in politics. Conserva
tive Republicans feel much
closer to conservative Demo
crats than to liberal- Republi
cans. Conservative Democrats
feel much closer to conserva
tive Republicans than to lib
eral Democrats.
WHOSE of us who call our
selves conservatives "be
lieve it's getting to be high
time for our two major par
ties to get back to a two-way
split instead of the present
four-way split.' ,
When that happens, IF
EVER, there can-again be In
tellectual honesty and sin
cerity in our politics. In the
present situation, our .politics
tends to degenerate into a
mere STRUGGLE FOR
POWER among factions.
Feeling that way about It,
I think that if I had been sit
ting beside Senator Boivln on
Saturday night, I would have
joined in his frowns at what
Governor Sawyer of Nevada
was saying.
PEEKING TOM' CAUGHT
Colchester, England - (UP0
Mrs. Rubv Jarnan hooted at
her frlpnrls' rpnnrls nf a
"peeking Tom with staring
eyes invading their privacy.
sue caugnt a tawny owl nest
ins in the npiffhhorhond. and
the complaints ceased.
QUITE A TITLE
London-IUPJ-The Daily Mail
today published John Dooley's
latest song hit titled "Who
Put Out the Light that Lit
the Candle that Started the
Fire that Started the Flames
Deep Down In My Heart"
uniforms of Laotian soldiers, i
Along the banks of the Me
kong, meandering now. among
sandbags in the dry season,
Chinese merchants pull back
their metal grills just after
dawn to draw customers be
fore - the city dozes again in
the hot midday sun. -'
There is no confusion, no
soaring prices, no .black market.--
In this there seem' signifi
cance. '
Except for a minority on
either side, neither the Wes
tern democracies nor the Com
munist have been able to ex
port their opposing philos
Pol I of G.O.P. De legates Fi n ds
Majority Against School Aid
By LYLE C. WILSON
Washington -WPD- There is
a long and fact-filled letter in
Republican National Commit
tee files that
would help
Repub lic a n
members of
C o n gress
make up their
minds on
party policy
toward Presi
dent Ken
nedy's school
aid bill.
: Tt would helD them make
up their, minds that the Re-
nublican , Darty is agamsi u,
The letter was written to Sen,
Thruston.B. Morton, R-Ky., in
his .capacity as partyy chair
man.. The autnor was ur,
Ernest L. Wilkinson, president
of Utah's Brigham Young Uni
versity.
Dr. Wilkinson was vice
chairman of a resolutions sub
committee which cqnsidered
federal aid to schools during
the Republican national con
tention last July. Sen. Gordon
Allott, R-Colo., was chairman
of the subcommittee. . .
Wilkinson, reminded Mor-.
ton that the subcommittee
voted 7-4 against any federal
aid. He implied that the sub
committee's point of view was
denied ia fair hearing- before
the full resolutions committee
and by the convention itself. ,
Moreover,. Dr. Wilkinson,
himself an educator, holds
that federal aid to schools is
dangerous and useless non
sense. He offers facts and
figures in support of his point
of view. These seem to De
sufficiently solid to warrant
discussion, refutation or proof
by interested members of
Congress. . .-V ' j
So distressed were Dr. Wil
kinson and some other mem
bers of his subcommittee by
the maneuvers of Allott and
others to commit the Republi
can party to federal aid, that
they decided to poll all con
vention delegates. Dr. Wilkin
son reported to Morton the
poll results.
Of the 1,331 delegates to the
Republican national conven
tion, 840 responded to the
poll, more than .83 per cent.
Dr. Wilkinson wrote to Mor
ton:' .V- ' -
"These (840) replies show
that only 3 per cent favored
and 96 per cent were against
federal aid to school teachers'
salaries (1 per cent not vot
ing); that only 18 per cent op
posed federal aid for school
construction (1 per cent not
voting). Of even greater sig
nificance is the fact that the
majority of responding dele-
College Aid Bill
Hearings Continue
Washington-IUPD - A House
education subcommittee con
tinued work behind closed
doors today on President Ken
nedy's $2.4 billion college aid
biU, with some big changes
in the making.
The changes apparently had
the blessings of the White
House.
Committee Chairman Edith
Green (D-Ore.) said the most
important one had already
been discussed with the ad
ministration. It would provide
for college construction grants
in addition to loans. - -
Another change under con
sideration was to add a spec
ial category of 1,000 "presi
dential scholarships" to the
scholarship section of the bill.
Rep. Green said they would
differ from the 25,000 federal
scholarships Kennedy pro
posed by placing more em
phasis on academic merit than
on financial need. -
April Frolic Planned
For Jackson School
The annual "April Frolic"
at Jackson Elementary
school will be held Friday,
April 14, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
Special prizes will be awarded
during the evening.
Concessions will include a
carnival coffee shop, gift shop,
doll rack, plant booth, ring-a-pig
games, bean bag throw,
dart throw, fish ponds and re
freshment booths.
Everyone interested is Invited.
ophies successfully .to. Laos.
The Communists would take
it by conquest, using as their
instrument the hard-core na
tive Pathet Lao.
' United States' aid to Laos
over the last few years now
hovers around the billion dol
lar mark, yy- yyy 4
Its purpose has been . two
fold: First, to supply-arms and
training to the Laotians to
permit them to defend them
selves against aggressive com
munism; second, to bujld a
free society which' of its own
accord would choose to align
itself with the democracies.
But to build a free,' self-
gates in every state voted de
cisively against both' federal
aid for teachers', salaries and
school construction." 1
, Dr.-Wilkinson said the bal
lots were intact and were
available for inspection '.and
audit. He alleged two basic ob
jections to the Kehnedy ad
Editorial Comment
A FEARFUL CREW, !
THE BIRCH SOCIETY
We have , been trying 'to
work up a proper degree of
conoern and Indignation about
the .John Birch Society, and
have : not so -far mnrlo the
grade.: .".' ' .. ; . y-'-.,;
y The Society may well" be
the menace it is hpinv niilnfarf
to be. We rempmhr n follnur
who laughed at Joe McCarthy.
: aui tne itepubllc has stood
off the Soviet . Union, since
1945 and ' with ' pnnHiripraMn
help, whipped two sets of
fascists plus Mussolini's Le
sions more rtr -Ipse slmultnn-
eouly in the period immedi
ately preceding.
.. ... , y ; :.-.
It lived throuch the TC nnw-
Nothinss. the TCIan the Cll.r
Shirts and the aforementioned
McCarthy, and will, from all
indications, also survive - the
Citizens Councils. - -v-y-- .;
We are exDerienced ' as a
nation, with crackpots-and
authoritarians. If the :- John
Birch Knnietv is tint ahnut the
nearest to impotent of the lot
we are,' as a; newspaper, a
good way wide of the mark.
; It has been alleged that the
John Birch Society- is a hate
group, hence dangerous. Cer
tainly it is made up of people
who know how to hate, and
who enjoy the sport. But they
are also, and more profound
ly, people shaken to their
being by fear.
- . -
Whether the founder (who
girded for his present large
responsibilities in his broth
er's candy factory) knows it
or not, the John Birch Society
is built upon the proposition
that mankind is doomed, and
tnat there is now time only
for a desperate rear-guard ac
tion. -'
The Society is convinced
that all forces of change, are
exclusively in the service of
the Kremlin,' andi that they
threaten the civilized world at
every point of contact. y
. What we have here is a fel
lowship of fear. In its articles
of faith, the Society resembles
nothing so much as 'one of
those sects which have from
time to time taken to the base
ment- and sealed up the
cracks around the door in the
conviction that the ' world
would end at 5:27 a.m. a week
from Thursday.
Consider the men and
things which the John Birch
ers or their founder have al
ready conceded to the Com
munists: They include the
President and his predecessor;
the Supreme Court; the na
tion's city managers; the ur
ban renewal advocates; the
proponents of fluoridation;
the United Nations.
These people don't . need
Try and
-By BENNETT CERF-
ZSA ZSA GABOR, the maverick of the TV circuit, was";
asked if it was the proper thing for a girl to return tha
ring after she broke an engagement. "Definitely," pro j
nouncect.zsa zsa without
hesitation. "She should
return the ring imme
diately, but keep the dia
mond, of course." .
-1
Goody Ace, probably the
highest paid script writer
in TV (something like ,
?8500 a week), once tolled
for peanuts in a network's
radio department and was
overpaid at that, because
they seldom accepted a line
he had written. "If ever an
atom bomb falls on this
town," he blurted suddenly,
"It's me for the 18th floor
of that outfit That's one place there's never any radioactivity!" t
Goody, who likes horse racing, once named the warm weather
months as June, July, August and Aqueduct Persuaded to bet j
one day on a hopeless long shot he told his wife Jane later, "I
got a tip this nag would walk in, and I must say he tried to."
, m m
Joe B. Lewis ran into an old punch-drunk fighter pal who's
struck it rich. He now can afford to wash his ears with Hollan.
daise sauce. .
. C 1961. by Bennett Cert Distributed by King Features Syndicate
governed and ordered so
ciety takes time, and- that
time, In Laos and many other
of the world's underdeveloped
lands, is not yet here. i ':
The Communist n a tl o n-s
realized . years ago the value
of propaganda and infiltration
among peoples whose freedom
still was far in the 'future.
That is why, When the -free
dom did come to nations of
Asia and Africa, trained, na
tive Communist leaders were
ready for their assignments.
" As for the native of Laos,
he ' just Wishes - both sides
would take their ' war- elsei
where. ::- ' "V...-:".-.-. .
ministration program: "
" -Neither schools hbr teach
ers need federal aid because
local communities can deal
with the diminishing -problems.
'' t - ::'';-.-y ' '
" -The federal- treasury can
not afford the proposed spend
ing.' . . :.' x.
condemnation. They - 'n e e d
help. ; - - v ;;'y,.' . ' '.:,;
They peed.-each of them; a
quick course in-American-history,
a heart-to-heart talk with
a trustworthy friend and 'then
perhaps, avgood long- rest: -T,,T1iS
evid?P?e is that' John
Birchism is incurable, but wet
can try. . y y." ,
Nor -does -John-: Birchism
seem to us -to be contagious.
The. presumption on whictf
the.-.'OrB-anizatlnn . has i
. . nag , ucCl
viewed so . -generally with,
alarm is that It la .m .
. - -u a viiua live
ly to -Infect innocent people.
All of the evidence we've
seen indicates that the "people
alreadv hail, the 1
..Auo, auu
nave pimply gotten together
. '.- ; ,. y r ' -:.
We SUDOO.l'e -'tK'at theo 'moj
be people in meaningful num
bers willing to take the oath':
of allegiance to .ahS outfit
which is willing to forfeit the;
Americari system of gpverri
ment for something the John
Birchers call, auitp orainU
tously, "the American way ot
inc. .
But weAdoubt that there are
many men of sound mind:
willing to accept the. collater
al dictum that Dwight Elsen-!
hower is a Communist.', V : K
To the extent that -thev
have done anything-except to
each other-and-to themselves
the John Birchers seem' to us:
to have performed a substan
tial public service. . -i
Thev have elertpd their fol
low Americans to the yexisU)
ence on tne jar, tar Tight of
the political spectrum of peo
pie .every bit as confused,;
troubled and wilHna in he lerl
around by the nose as their;
opposite numbers on the far.'
far left.; j
The Society also has nro-t
vided . an interestint litmus5'
test for some of our noisier
politicians. Senator Eastland, -for
example, has justf sppken
well of them. .
Until they move beyond
their present activities, which
appear to, consist pretty ex
clusively of whipping up each'
others' . hysteria and of occa
sionally . slandering men so'
eminent as to be substantially
invulnerable to' such attacks..
we think the John Birchers;
more a nuisance than a peril.'
If we must have people
willing . to believe in . thei
things the Society stands tot,'
we may as well have the So"
ciety.
The existence of such a
group is abound to cut down.
on the number of Birchists"
running . around . unencum-y
bered by the label, and thus,
likely to be mistaken for re
sponsible citizens.-Pine Bluff;
(Ark.), Commercial. ..... ;t
Stop Me
fJO DIAMOND . . . j
it