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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1961)
"Everyone in Southern Oregon Rbfished Dally except Saturday by . r MIDFORD PRUNING CO 35 Worth Fir St., Ph. BP3-glt "ROBERT W. RUHL, Editor HERB GREY, AdverUitng Manager tiCKAlJ 1. LJ 1 11..--., uiu, - n ERIC W. ALLEN JB , Mnr. Editor OLIVE STARCHER. Women a Editor DALE IWun, utrcuwumi ...a. Ml illlic mil.., . . . . , r Entered eecond claii matter at Meaiora, uresun, uiiu ... March 3, 1897 By Mall In Advance, Copy 10c e.,nj.v t vaar 11.1.00 n.llv and Sunday 8 mo. 8 00 Daily and Sunday 3 mot. 4.3 Sunday Only One year 4.J0 "htano, Central Point , Eagle bi Jacksonville. Cold Hill, Phoenix, Shady Cove, Rogue Rlv- er. Talent and on moior nwa. Dally and Sunday 1 mo. 1.S0 Carrier and Dealera copy 10c All Term Cain in Aavance -official Paper of City of Medford Official Paper of Jackson County United Press International 1 , Full Leased Wire nJI. Telephoto Wewiplcturei ' "MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU Aavernsina "SH,c"b".mXVt WEST HOLIDAY COj, INC. Of fleet in New York, Chlcago, De troit, San Franclico. iia Seattle, Portland, St. Louis, At- lama. Vancouver, p.. NEWSMPII PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION NATION Al I DITORIAl Flight o' Time Medford and Jackson County Hlitory from the flit o The Mill Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Vr go. ' 10 TEARS AOO a it tail fVMiiavl Tk hm0 Japfe-ann at. bridge across Bear creek will prob- . . . x A 41 n ably DO openea to . ' sometime Sunday, according to the city superintendent. A J 8-year-old man was ar retted by state police here ye- . ten-day and U being held as a luiptct In a March 81 murder In Tacoma, Waah. SO TEARS AOO April II, 1141 (Sunday) Local dtlzeni are flocking to Crater Lake park this Eu trr w-k end. - r.' 4 Arthur Parry's "Ye V Pot" column! "The tm viae today roar. "All i i j. l.al Monday) The attempted robbery of ' an Aihland bank failed yester day when a local arunw hot one of the band lit; a tecond bandit escaped and la now the object of a nollce search. The county court Is again seeking way of Keeping me public from dumping rubbish along county roads. 40 TEAM AOO . April 13. 1111 (Wednesday) An Ashland man has an nounced plan to bulla a road house at the summit of Siski you pass. ' , Snow fell In Medford for a half-hour early this morn ing, but It quickly melted. SO TEARS AOO AnrU 13. 1911 (Thursday) , Page one headlines: "Frost King Put to Rout by Smudge Pots: Although Killing xem- M ' oerature Comes, Orchards Ate Not Harmed as Scientific Flahtlna of Frost Proves a Great Success," Charles A. Malboef has re- luned as secretary of the , Medford Cpmmerclal club; he did outstanding work In pro motlns Medford and the Rogue valley. What's Your I.Q.? Nina 01 tan correct It luperlorl tven or eight It Mcallant) ilva or tlx It 0000. l'. Standing at the North Pole, In what direction would one face? 2. Is a gnu an Insect, ante lope, or reptile? . 3. Gumbo Is a soup thick ened with mucllagnous pods of what vegetable? - . 4. Of what South'Amerlcan country is Pedro G. Beltran the prime minister? B, Would you guess that the gorilla has the same number of pairs of ribs as man, more ribs, or fewer ribs? 6. Do biennial elecUons oc cur every six months, or every two years? , 7. How many divisions has the Zodiac? 8. Is the moon self-luminous? 9. Do opponents In a chess game use the same or differ ent color squares? : 10. Which sea does the port of Bombay, India, face? Ans worst 1. South In all di rections, t. Antelope. 3. Okra. 4. Peru. S. More. I. Every two : years. 7. Twelve. I. No. 9. Same. 10. Arabian tea. PHOTO Or A SNEEZE i Newark, N.J. - The picture of man in the act of sneez ing was the first successful demonstration of a motion pic ture at West Orange, N.J. in 1889. THURSDAY, APRIL 13. 1961 Man In Space For a lone time, American scientists and tech nicians have had the basic knowledge to put a man into orbit around the earth, to do the job the Russians did yesterday. ; For a decade or even more, all tnat would have been required was a sense of direction, of urgency, and the necessary expenditure of rela tively huge sums to develop the hardware and fuels necessary for the task. That the Russians have done it first reveals several things. One is that they have the tre mendous drive and energy and determination to surmount the technical problems and do the job. . .. IT ALSO is revealing of the fact that America, which for so long was in the forefront of the world's science and technology, is no longer the unchallenged leader. ' We must admit that, in some areas at any rate, the Russians are ahead of us how far ahead, and whether we can catch up, are ques tions yet to be answered. - - The answer depends on this country, its lead ers, and its people whether they respond to the challenge of scientific competition in the race for space; or whether we will continue to be contented with our gimmicks, our gadgets and second class status. E.A. Why Why, some people ask, should we worry about getting into space? Why spend all that money? Why expend the effort and take the attendant riBKSf wnai gooa wiu ii uui miy nuu wv w solve some of our earth-bound problems first? These may be valid questions, but they ignore the fact that man is a curious beast, and will go to almost any lengths to satisfy that curiousity. ; Secondly, we must admit that our own space program, and that of the Russians, too, would not be where they are, were it not for the competi tive push each has given the other. e ' IDEALLY, it might be a good idea to solve the nmtilama nf Vienlf.ri ..nvprnnniilatfrw. distribution of foodstuffs, raising the world's standard of living, and so on, before we go gallivanting off into space. But. once the start was made, it was too late to turn back. There are many factors all adding up to the necessity that the task continue fac tors including those 6f world psychology, the military asnects. human curiousity. human pride, and simple scientific advancement. t : We are committed to tne race lor space. 10 day we're lagging. E.A. The Larger v y There are, inevitably, political ramifications to the fact tnat Kussia the U.S. hasn't and isn't yet ready to. Whatever can be said about the pleasant Ei senhower years, it cannot years filled with ambition They were, in many the attention of Americans was focused on pleas ant living, with far too little on the many serious and unsolved problems facing America things like adequate education, dwindling natural resources, dynamic economic growth, basic scientific research, and even the threat posed by communism to the free world. a TTHE orbiting of Sputnik on October 4, 1957, did a lirla ot?r tViu AmnrifnYl nonnlo Tfa nffpeta m toVVaV W VIA Vll V 4aiiIV4 0VMt U4V4 VU on education, for one, are still being felt. But aside from that, it didn't seem to get peo ple tremendously excited, and by the time a dozen or so satellites nad been iired on, tney became fairly routine., Ho hum. But a man circling the globe in less than two hours, while in actual cold scientific terms it may not be as significant as some of our instrument ed space shots, should tion to both the dangers the space age which has come upon a world which is politically and psychologically unready. " e e v e THERE is a new political climate in the United States today. People are beginning to respond to President Kennedy's vigorous leadership. And it is our prediction that even the congress will wake up to the fact that we are in a new era be fore too long. At least we hope so. For if we do not have a nation essentially united behind its leaders, a nation which will respond to the demands of the times, then we might just as well stop worrying about the United Nations, and Laos and the Congo and Latin America, and all the rest pull in our horns, re tire from the struggle, and wind lip a has-been nation without trying. If this happens it will be the denial of the hopes and dreams of Americans, and other free peoples, for a peaceful, fruitful world. e e a . lAKE no mistake. If America does not re spond to the challenge implicit in Maj. Yuri Gagarin's first little step in space, it will mean the end of the world as it is now,' and as we hope it may be. For America still represents the "last, best hope",for world freedom and world peace, in its leadership of the free world. : : t ; ; If it loses that leadership,! in any marked de gree, in any really significant field, we might as well concede that Communism represents the wave of the future, i - ; And that is a thought too appalling to con sider seriously. E.A. . . Space? Challenge Jias orbited a man,' and be said that they were and determination. r regards, lazy years, when conservation of our do more to alert the na arid the challenges of Dennis the . Menace jELty DOUGHNUT. )A VWNT IT? Letters- to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer, although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or Inlial for publication Is permissible. The Mad 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, Sick Pay and Pensions To the Editor: In a news item in April lOth's Issue of the Mail Tribune I was aston ished, (second time lately), to see some facts and figures there in bold type. Tuesday, when I could get my. breath through' the "pear piokers smog," the figures had not changed a bit. Are you ready? Well here they come: Seventy-five thou sand (75,000) Federal Govern ment workers report SICK on an average working day! And, my friends, that is with payl That i is a heck of a lot of 'hang-overs.' Federal workers averaged 7.7 days of short term sick leave. Hold your hat, here are some more figures: This short term sick leave cost Uncle Sam, I mean you taxpayers, $315,000,000 last year. Here is one point I want to make: Call-up the veneer mill where you work and tell the boss you won't be In, you are sick. Then on payday, see If you got paid for that day I Now my main point: With only a couple hundred thou sand of world War One vet erans left, who all average 66 years old and the total drop ping fast yearly,- don t you think that the Bill In Congress to grant therfl a separate Pen sion of $100 per month should be passed? Thousands of these veterans are disabled, many 100 per cent. , Think it over. Malemute Slim,. White City; Ore. ; Enjoy God's World To the Editor: We live right across the street from the playground at Hanby school here in Gold Hill, and usually there isn't too much activity over there during the week ends, except for the usual boys and girls who play bas ketball and sometimes tennis. However, this week end was different. How? Why was It different? Because several of the younger families got to gether to play basketball and baseball, and this is as it should be. The mothers and fathers were playing-'havlng a ball"-lettlng off pent-up en ergies in a clean, wholesome, healthy way. This is the way to stay youngl i How long has 'it been since you took a walk? Either a good brisk one or a slow, peaceful, thoughtful one? How long has it been since you communed with nature? So often, and the majority of us must admit this I'm sure (especially we, the women) we find ourselves to be merely hot-house plants-never ven turing into the fresh air ex cept to hang the wash or to do some other task. We don't al low ourselves to enjoy nature. Sometime when you are tired and bedraggled, try tak ing off your shoes and going barefoot on the grass. If it's damp it's all the better, for it tends to, in a manner of speaking, recharge your bat tery. Or lie on the grass and Mrs. Duncan Pens Script for Movie Salem (DPD The legislature decided Wednesday to get Into the movie-making busi ness. It Dassed HJR34 which au thorizes a committee to have a documentary film produced showing what Is Involved In the lawmaking process. The film, for which $1,300 was appropriated, will be be produced and narrated by Robert Rlchter, program coor dinator for' state station KO AC-TV In Salem. I The script was written by Mrs. Robert Duncan, wife of the House speaker. Cameraman will be Wil liam Rush of Corvallls. MEDFORD MAIL if you feel like rolling around in It do so. It's a good way to exercise while you're at lt- but don't think of It as exer cise, Just enjoy it. I'll bet some of you are thinking I'm fetched In the bead by now ana prodarjiy feel I'm some kind of a nut. But I'll wager that if you learn to communicate with nature as you would a rela tive or friend, you'll soon find that you're feeling so much less tense and much more healthy,- Of course, if you re afraid to become- friends with the great out-of-doors, then you're afraid of your own shadow. If you're afraid someone, might take you as some sort of idiot, then just continue living in your hot-house and grow more tense and shrivel up and die, not knowing the exuberant joy of loving all God has put here for us to enjoy. Enjoy God's beautiful world todayl , , Mrs. R. P. corona, . 904 Fifth ave,, : Gold Hill, Ore. It Seeks the Truth To the Editor: This Is an open letter tothe members of the Oregon House, State and Federal Affairs Commit tee, about HB 1413-registra- tion and reporting by paid lobbyists. All House BUI 1413 seeks is that the truth be told and told as a public record, This bill has had two hear ings before your committee. The last hearing was held March 8, over one month ago. No further hearings are In tended by you, I am Informed. : Since no one has appeared publicly to oppose this bill be fore your committee at either hearing, and since consider able testimony and evidence in favor of it was produced I am at a loss to understand why the bill has not been reported out. Perhaps this has been an oversight and this re minder will prompt action. In the event there is still some small question about the need for this legislation, I would be happy to provide a list of persons to call and questions to ask. Your corn mittee has the power to sub poena witnesses and records, should that become necessary, although I doubt it would be, I personally see no reason for further hearing, however, and only suggest it if the com mittee's failure to act is based upon any doubt. ; ' The Governor and the Speaker have endorsed this bill in principle. So have sev eral editorial commentators and leaders in both parties. Again no oife has opposed. Thirty-one states have regis tration, and 22 states have ex pense - reporting provisions. Missouri and Colorado have been considering such this spring. The public has a right to know how much what is worth to whom. Even in the case where a proposed $40,000 budget for the promotion and drafting of just one bill be fore this legislature was dis closed, the public has not be come fully Informed. The ac tual persons composing the membership of the commit tee desiring to raise and spend this money have not become known. Who are.they, exacUy how many lobbyists are actu ally engaged, where did the funds come from and how much has been spent by all lobbying for this bill? In a similar circumstance in the next legislature this would be public knowledge, as would the persons involved and the amounts spent on oth er subjects at the next legto-lature-e.g. green stamps, high way taxes, billboards, dairy regulation, school laws or budgets and appropriatiohs-if this bill is considered favor ably by the legislature. o supporter mentioned TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE, 'HIBUHE, Mtiurunu, unn, U.S. Views By PHIL NEWSOM UPI Foreign News Analyst Just two years ago this week Fidel Castro began a triumphal tour of the United States." "An articu late and cour ageous young man," one U.S. senator called him. . In the lnter v e n 1 n g two years, United States and Cu ban relations Maii&W?faafctaaJ Newton made a full 180-degree turn. Castro had seized about a billion and a quarter dollars worth of U.S. property. A position, paper prepared in the White House declared that Castro and his fellows had betrayed their own revo lution. It labelled the Castro regime a "clear and present danger" to the hemisphere. It expressed confidence that 'I Drummbiid Reports (Walter Llppmenn Is In Europe. Roicoe Drummond reports from Washington In Vis absence.) POLITICAL PEACE COFPS? - Washington - We have still ta tighten the election laws against fraud and careless ness and, even more Import ant,- to provide for real en forcement. 1 There are two essential in gredients for this reform. 1 The first Is for Republicans and Democrats to quit point- ine at each other as the guilty one. Both should recognize that better enforcement of the above has charged corruption or pay-off, nor have I. Since this is the case I can not see why anyone would want to keep the truth a secret. I urge you to pass this bill out to the floor of the house for a decision by all its members. Edward N. Fadeley, State Representative, (Lane county) Salem, Ore. Why the Dead Fish? To the Editor: Have been reading about the Rogue river being so muddy, and the rea son for it. Now I am wonder ing why all the dead trout in Big Butte Creek? There are 30 of them rignt in front of my place alone, and with fishing season to open April 22, I have been wondering If that is too good Can afiy one explain the rea son for the dead trout? I have lived on the Big Butte Creek for 32 years and have never seen anything like this. Caroline Harding, Trail, Ore. No Place To Go To the Editor, and the White City man whose tale was headed "Humanity," and savs he has no place to go, iJosh Billings said "The trouble with most folks isn't so much their ignorance as it is knowing so much that ain't so." :) If you are under 50 years of age, walks in the country at this time of year should give you - great satisfaction, but if over 50, we Medford seniors are the friends you lust didn't know about. There is something doing at the Senior Center, 601 East Jackson, nearly every day: pictures, language classes, painting lessons and the drama class from 3 'til 4:30 Wednesdays, orchestra prac tice from 1 'til 3 Thursdays -and, by the way-sometimes our pianist can't make it. Is there a piano player who would volunteer to help out if called? Other oldsters who once played any Instrument will find ths a good place to keep in practice. All the classes are free and you'll like us. I know, for we like ourselves. The Fifty Plus club has more women memDers uwu men. AU we ask is that mem bers be of good character ana behave themselves. Member ship dues In the latter is $1 each quarter (three months). Pearl Spademan, Secretary, Jacksonville, Ore. Steam Conversion ' To the Editor: I am won dering if there may be among the readers of the Medford Mall Tribune' some dyed-ln-the-wool steam fans who may have a few ideas on the con version of a Chevrolet six engine to run on steam. I think it could be done, at any rate it would present an in teresting problem. ' . I think it necessary to mane new cylinder head, cam shaft, Intake, valves and pos sibly rockerfcrms. Tne advan tages of using an old gasoline engine would be ready made cylinder block, pistons, con necting rods, crank shaft, lu brication system, and quite possibly a number of other ready made parts. I'd be very mucn mterestea in hearing from others who may be Interested In this proj ect. Floyd R. McCabe, Mt. Pitt Star Rt-,x Butte Falls, Ore. on Castro the Cuban people "will con tinue to strive for a free Cuba," and. Importantly, it promised full and positive support to "future democratic governments" in Cuba. ' Whether by coincidence or' through cause and effect re mained a matter for conjec ture, but scarcely had the White House paper been is sued than the newly-united anti-Castro forces under for mer foreign minister Jose Miro Cardona Issued a dra matic "caU to arms." - "Fidel knows his days are numbered," said Miro Car dona. Throughout Latin America there was the belief that the White House had Issued the 10,000-word . statement for a purpose more than just setting the record straight. Contained In It, they be lieved, was an obvious call for Internal insurrection against Castro. They saw in It also an equally obvious implication election laws will benefit ev eryone by insuring that every vote will count. There Is no doubt that over the years both parties have engaged in Illegal and unfair practices at ' the polling booths, voting dead men and counting out tne living. But no party has had a mo nopoly on these evils. . Obviously when a national election is as tight as last fall, the very fact that some 3,000,- 000 Americans were deprived of their ballots, undermines confidence in the Democratic process and underlines the need for reform. Interparty recrimination, however, will get us nowhere. The assump tion that one party is more culpable than the other will simply delay reform. Mr. Nix on might have picked up strength If all the votes had been secure, but it Is also true that President Kennedy might have won by a greater plu rality. .' THE second ingredient for election reform is for the Republican and Democratic parties to recruit and train adequate manpower to guard the polls. Rep. William B Widnall, R., of New Jersey, has a helpful suggestion, He says: "It appears to me that a tremendous service could be performed by some of the colleges in providing watch ers and challengers -fori elec tion day.!' ' This goes to the heart of the problem. The greatest pro tection to tne integrity of the ballot-safeguarding both the right to vote and the fairness of the count-comes from the ability of the two parties to put competent, voluntary workers at every polling place in every i district In every state. In areas where one par ty Is weak, adequate watchers are unavailable. Often they are untrained, do not know the laws, are quite useless. Many of the worst abuses at the polls stem from this inad equacy. .. TTOW can the parties get - competent election watch ers in adequate number? It seems to me that a right and workable answer is star ing us In the face: Why not a political peace corps of vol unteer college students? They would gladly give their serv ices in at least one election They would serve the better functioning of democracy in tne u. s. the way the interna tional peace- corps is prepar ing to help build democracy m other countries. On the basis of conversa tions with undergraduates on many campuses, I am sure that large numbers of college students would tie willing and eager to volunteer if given a significant job to do. They would need to receive special training because untrained poll watchers are helpless. Many would themselves like to get into politics. Service in the political peace corps would be a good beginning. , rpHE Democratic and Repub-- lican National Chairmen, Sen. Thruston Morton and John Bailey, ought to realize, If they don't already, that voter opinion is very sensitive about fraud and carelessness at the polls. The completely non-parti san study, "Are You a Shadow Voter?"-put out by the Wom en's Division of the Republi can National Committee-has created a nationwide stir. Po litical and non-political or ganizations, including the League of Women Voters and the Fair Campaign Practices Committee, have been dis tributing copies by the thou sands in all the states. Mr. Morton and Mr. Bailey need not leave the initiative to others. The need for action is evident and it seems to me that the political peace corps is a large part of the right answer. (c) 1961 New York Herald Tribuno Inc. . . Do 180-Deg ree Turn Position Difficult that any forces tnat tnrew Castro and his communist henchmen out and pledged it self to democracy would re ceive quick and sympathetic attention in Washington. What the United States actu ally would do In the event a counter-revolutionary force did establish a Cuban beach head remained unclear. On the one hand was hs clear obligation unaer me charter of the Organization of American States which bans intervention, direct or indi rect, In the affairs of any other state. . , On the other was tne rear that unless action came soon, any counter-revolution by the Cuban people must be crush ed under the steadily increas ing weight of Communist arms flowing into me coun try. Washington estimates of these arms place them at more than 30,000 tons in tne lasi nine months. Matter of Fpct y joePh ai.op (o) New York Herald Tribune Syndicate COL. THAO'S ELECTION Ben Tre, Kien Hoa Prov ince, Vietnam The black- pyjamaed Vietnamese ranger lieutenant sa luted smartly after making his whispered report, and ran out Into i t' ' sharp rattle I r, Vof gunfire, iVaadaW-aM aaati not too far Aisop : away. The vouna colonel turned to his long table-full of guests with a brilliant, mildly teasing smile: ' "One of two Communist companies are moving to wards the town," he said. "I've sent one of the re inforcement groups from my reserve to oppose them. But I'm afraid dinner jnay be a little noisy." . The. assembled notables of this river delta province took the announcement with com plete outward -calm. Ever since 1955, the Communists have been making a maxi mum effort here. Not so long ago before Lt. Col. Pham Ngoc Thao took charge of the provlnce e v e n this little provincial capital of Ben Tre was in the Communists' hands by night. And the Commu nist guerrilla chief had long since sent printed circulars all .-.through' the province, swearing to use his entire military force to abort the next day's election. rTlHUS no one was surprised by the advance on , the town. Bub- the absence of astonishment only made the dinner part rather more bizarre. Course after course of de licious Vietnamese food was brought to the long table, Under blazing lights, we sat maKlng small talk about such subjects as the population's remarkable ability to tell the difference between real mor tar shells and the Commu nists' psychological warfare mortar shells produced by ex ploding acetylene in bamboo logs. Now .another courier, now another burst of riflr fire, now the dull booming of a cannon, caused a short hia tus in the small talk. A final courier arrived as dinner ended, and his news for the first time caused the colonel to change expression. "The advance on the town has been stopped, they are withdrawing," he told his de parting guests. Then, out of tne side of his mouth, he passed another item of infor. mation to a more permanent guest. "One of my compan ies on the fringe of town may have deserted. Would you line io come and see?" A QUICK drive through the velvet night; between thick fringes of palms, man goes, and bananas the snick of a, bullet from somewhere in the trees a cautious ap- prum-ii io anotner vehicle which turned out to be a jeep tarrying a wounded man ana then we came on a scene from Goya. The little mud built fort of the auto-defense group was like a disturbed antnui. boldiers and their women were running back and forth. A non-mmmir. sioned officer was gesturing o..u ouuuunis orders. And over all this, the lamps that uaa oeen Drought cast a dull golden light against the pitch black background of the night. Quickly, the colonel sot h real story. One man of the 12 in the forth had tried to kill the officer in charge, and had then escaped by leaping into the river nearby. Quickly with an order and a joke, the colonel restored calm. And after four additional soldiers had been left behind, ,u give tuimuence to tne men in the fort, the jeep cavalcade moved on again! ' ', THIS time, the objective was An Imnnrlont f" i j Ing on th rthest nf ih 11 5? it thr- delta-islands w h I r h . Finally there is the effect of any direct U.S. Intervention on Its relations with other Latin American nations. What affection there is among them for the United States might easily be dissipated and their own problems increased by the fact that many possess large pro-Castro elements. .Already the U.S. position balances upon a fine edge. . It would not be difficult to Interpret the White House pa per itself as a form of Indirect intervention and thus a treaty violation. But alternatives also are distasteful. If It is accepted that an internal explosion is inevitable, then delay only means additional suffering for the Cuban people. Castro already possesses far more arms than needed for a simple matter of defense. If he attempts to use them else where then' another nation must suffer. - make up Kien Hoa province. xne arive was long, but at the end the same Goya-scene was re-enacted, with the addition of a just-trapped Communist grenade thrower, weeping and in bonds. Col. Thao patted his local commander on the back when he .heard that a Coml munist -underground tax col lector had also been caught. Then, after briefly interred gating the grenade-thrower, he leaped Into the jeep and drove onwaros once more. "The grenade-thrower says there are 30 of them over there In trees," he remarked, gesturing leftwards. "The men of the post were already preparing their at tack. But if the Communists think the post has been re inforced, they'll get away first. So we must move quickly." So the night continued, ending with a long patrol just before dawn, which located a little Communist infiltration group by their quickly flash- ing signal lights and flushed them out of their hiding place on the fringe of Ben Tre town. But only a few hours of sleep were permitted before the colonel's endless patrol ling began again. I- ' A LL morning, he made the rounds of crowded polling places, checking everywhere with the village headmen on the percentage of voters who had come out, ."There is little support for . the opposition lists," said the colonel between polling places. "It would not be an inter esting election, if the Commu nists had not said there must be no election. That makes it a contest between us and them, about whether 'there is to be an election at all. If we get out as much as 65 to 70 per cent of the vote in this province, It will be a victory for us." The pause for luncheon was brief, and the colonel's pa trolling began again, this time directed towards points where trouble had been reported during the morning. A visit to an unsuccessfully dynamit ed bridge a quick sweep into a village where Commu nist agitators had been haras sing the voters and then the colonel came to a stream-site where 60 or 70 of the enemy were firing on a polling place from the opposite bank. - HPHE troops on the spot and the colonel's own men were quickly collected. Burst ing from cover, the detach ment hurled itself across the shallow stream with a vast splashing, under heavy but fortunately ill-aimed fire. As they reached the bank, sha dows dodged away among the trees. But wiry little Lt. Ninh, who led the detachment, came back with two young guerrilla fighters who had been left behind. So ended the active part of the colonel's election day. This morning, with all returns in, he cast up his accounts. He had lost one man at the river crossing, plus a civil guard in another action, plus a village' elder who had been assassinated, plus an old wom an and a child whom the Communists had shot while attacking a little market. In addition, he had one man wounded, the officer attacked by the deserter. The Communist had left six dead on the field, of whom two fell at the river crossing; four of them had been taken prisoner; they had at least ten reported wounded. In nine villages out of 115 in the province, thev had blocked the polling places well enough to require' military sweeps. But over 80 per cent oi tne people in the province had gone to the polls, will ingly or unwillingly defying the Communists' orders, and gave President Diem a huge majority. It was between us and them," said the colonel, sum- m. "And I think we 'iia iund." L
