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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1961)
4 A I!EDF0RDS3.TRIBUN8 "Everyone la Southern Oregon publliheiTEally except Saturday bjr 88 North Fir St Ph. SP S-S141 " ROBERT W. RUHL. Editor HERB GREY. Advertislns Manage nirRAl.rj T LATHAM. But. Mir. ERIC W. ALLEN JR.. Mn Editor EARL H. ADAMS. City Editor . . ...... .mnn KI BMItn RICHARD JEWETT, Sports Eiitor OLIVE STARCHER. Women'! Editor DALE EHlCRauJt, urcuiauon An tnfinndent NewsoaDer Entered aa second claii matter at MruIOTu. ureaon, unavr iui y, March 3. 1807 stimKriRIPTION RATES - . By Mail In Advance. Cop; 10c Daily and Sunday 1 year S1S.00 Dally and Sunday moi, 8.00 Dolly, and Sunday S mos. M Sunday Only One year $4. 20 By Carrier 1st Advance Medford . Asmana. t;enu-ai roim c. a Point. Jacksonville. Gold Hill, Phoenix. Shady Cove, Rorue Rlv- r Tiln4 and nrt motor routes. . Dally and Sunday 1 Tear 1B00 Daily and Sunday t mo. I SO Carrier and Dealera copy 10c All Term Caah inAdvanc "iff flclal Paper of City of Medford Official Paperof Jackson Connty. United Press International . Full Leased wire n.P.V Telephoto Wewplcturei ""MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS A j.,Mil nnn,. .ftntntlve; WEST HOLIDAY CO.. INC. ON . flcea In New York. Chicago. De. troit. San Franclaco. Los Angeles, Seattle. Portland. St Louis, At lanta. Vancouver. B.C. - NiWSPAPER PUdlSHEtt ASSOCIATION NATION A I EOlTOftlAl Flight p' Time Medford nd Jackson County Hisroty from tha file of Tha Mail Trlbuna 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 yean ago. -' 10 YEARS AGO : A Medford man suffered severe Injuries today when a cloud-seeding plane he w a s flying -crashed on the Old Camp White reservation. Brooms made by Oregon blind people will- go on sale at six downtown locations to morrow. ,20 YEARS AGO ' The Albany Alco-Oaks de-. feated the Medford Craters 4 to 2 in 11 innings last night in a game played before 2,000 pectators at the fairgrounds ballpark. . From Arthur Perry's "Ye Smudge Pot" column: "T h e Prospect road will be straight ened in the tall. It was origi nally built so a tourist, if he felt like it, could stop at every turn and see Mt. Pitt." ' 30 YEARS AGO May 11, 1931 (Monday) Ralph Cowgil, formerly of Medford, is head of the newly- created state engineering .de partment. Maj. Gen. Smedley Butler, USMC, has arrived in Oregon to start organizing a state po lice department; he will visit Medford soon. , 40 YEARS AGO May 11, 1821 (Wednesday) ' Edwin' Markham, noted poet ,and native Oregonlan, poke here last night. ' Twenty local physicians have organized the Jackson County Medical society. 80 YEARS AGO May 11. 1911 (Thursday) . Fire last night did exten sive damage to the Weeks and McGowan Furniture store here. V" Rogue valley strawberries could be seen on the market this week, earlier than straw berries from any other Ore gon point. What's Yosr I.Q.? Nina at fan correct h suearleri seven ar eight la eacellentj five ar aii it oad. 1. An airplane flown by radio control from a mother airplane is called what? 2. The names of eight states of the U. S. begin with the letter M; name them. : 3. In which country was gunpowder invented? 4. On what river Is Stalin grad? 3. Who wrote: "Oh East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet..."? 6. Into which ocean does India extend? 7. What was the real name of Stonewall Jackson?.- - 8. Polio is an abbreviated name of what disease? 9. The Audubon Society was organized for what purpose? : 10. Was Van Dyck a por trait, genre, or historical painter? Answersi 1. Drone. 2. Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mis aiiiippi, Missouri, Minnasota, Montana, Michigan. 3. China. 4. Volga. B. Rudyard Kipling. . Indian ocean. 7. Thomas Jonathan. I. Poliomyelitis, t. Protection of bird life. 10. Portrait. Washington - (VPD - Like her father, Caroline Kennedy has rocking chair. It is a little white one with her name on the baek. The little rocker was spotted by a reporter in a white doll house on the south lawn of the Whit House. SB THURIDA.Y. MAY 11. 1181 BillTugman William M. (Bill) day afternoon 'at 67, was one of the really big men m Oregon for more than 30 years. . . No one awed Bill Tugman; no' one scared him. He detested stuffed shirts, and the "big brass" didn't impress him very much. What he did respect was integrity and ability and hard work qualities which he himself embodied. As one of Oregon's true VIP's (and he would have snorted at Deing called that) he was a major factor in the state's progress and planning virtually from the first moment he arrived to be cqme managing editor of what is now the Eu gene Register-Guard. ... e a a a POR 28 years he led the editorial forces of that - excellent newspaper, writing in an explosive, vivid, sometimes folksy style, but always with clarity and vigor. His "extra-curricular" activities were many. He was one of the long-time leaders in the battle for good highways, for state parks, for beauty and rationality and planning at all levels. ' Sometimes he was cantakerous and some times he was gentle, and his moods were signaled bv the antrle and attitude of his magnificent. bushy eyebrows eyebrows which rivaled those of his one-time friend, and later foe, Wayne Morse. ; LIE WAS a leader in his profession, not only in Oregon, but nationally. His was one of the few voices raised in protest in the councils of the nation s editors when the late Senator trom Wis consin badgered and berated the editor of the New York Post in what Bill Tugman thought was a threat to the freedom He was honored by many times, but he wore found his greatest satisfaction in the scars of his many battles and in the record of progress and sanity in public affairs of which he was a cham pion and leader. 1 Politically he was something of a conserva tive, but was far more interested in the man than in his political designation. When he thought a candidate was right, he would support him: when he thought a candidate was wrong, he would oppose him with everything he possessed. ? "TVER the years we had our share of strong disagreements with Bill Tugman, as has had practically everyone who knew him. But Bill held no grudges, and after a out fight on one issue, team with his erstwhile opponent on a project on which they agreed. Uood highways were he was among the principal leaders in the 1952 light for the weight-mile terest revived this year, as the legislature voted to modify this tax, and it was saved only by Gov ernor Hatfield's veto. ; He battled the legislature with all his failing energy, Ignoring the warnings of two previous heart attacks, and our last contact with him was a telegram from him only a few days ago, urging us to support Hatfield's veto. ; ; . ' eee TUGMAN'S "retirement" from7 the Guard sev oral VsOoia arm uraa tvnitol Ha Vr.nrrV.f tV0 small weekly Port Umpqua Courier, and edited it with vigor and imagination until health forced him to take it easier. At the time of. his death he was serving Con gressman Edwin Durno as a field representative in the fourth district, was active in library, work in Douglas county, was chairman of the state parks advisory committee, and heaven knows how many other projects lor This was his idea of harness a harness of his is what he would have wanted. The people of Oregon, even those who never heard of him, have much to thank Bill Tugman for. And Oregon s newspapers have lost a friend, a conscience, a burr and a colleague who will be sadly missed. E.A. , , $50-perMonth Performance ' As this is written, the its final hours of confused wrangling. The state's editors, who keep a fairly close eye on the goings-on in Salem, are nearing unanimity that this session has been irresponsible in its col lective actions. it is difficult to assign individual responsi- Diiity lor the actions of only assessment of the adjourns, and a study of tne matter in its proper light. a a a a a DUT as of the moment, we are inclined to agree u in large part with Charles V. Stanton of the Roseburg News-Review, i m wonnering it tms year a session nas been worth Its cost. "Members of the legislature haven't given very good exhibition of being able to make up their minds on anything. They have dilly-dallied. They have changed their minds time and again. They have passed bills, only to drag them back, amend them, pass them again, then kill them. They have been extremely in decisive. They have spent a very great amount of time squabbling, some of the squabble pertaining to party politics rather than governmental legislation. Apparently they have yielded to pressures ... . "We should remember such Inefficiency If and when we're asked to pay more money to our legislators." That last sentence is have long sought to have their pay raised. . But we still maintain that $50 a month is not enough to attract the kind of legislator that won't fc,,c oceoiun uegeneraie mio me legislative shambles it has this year. E.A. Tuzman, who died Tues of the press. his Oregon colleagues the honors lightly, and knock-down-and-drag- he was always ready to one of his passions, and highway tax. This in the public good. retirement. He died in own. choosing which legislature is entering a yu-member body, and record after the session voting records, will put when he says: the stintrer. for members Dennis tha Menace If YOUb gstjVa mud WVDLB ONCB w amis, awbe youo mi F8iNDURWn mi' Communications Letters to tha Editor must bear the name and address of tha writer. although under certain circumstances the use oi a pen name or Inilal for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to adit all letters with a view to clarification and condensaton. Letters submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words .Tha letters printed In his column do not necessarily represent tha views of tha paper; in fact tha contrary is often By What Right? To the Editor: Last fall the majority of the people of Or egon expressed their desire that all of Oregon should re main on Pacific Standard time. What legal right has the legislature and governor to change a law supposedly vot ed by people? i-' - I would suggest that lor a summertime ache dule we work S days a week, play 1, worship 1. - , ' " Go to work 1 hour earlier 5 days to make up for Satur day off. Burrell Wyant V Lake Creek, Ore. Rx for Loneliness To the Editor: Small Worlds Around Us," written by L. M. Watkins, to me is very inter esting. He often mentions the in telligence of birds and ani mals. He and other bird lovers would love my parakeets, two females, Keety Bird and Big Eyes. x . ". Their intelligence amazes me. ' Keety Bird starts about S a.m. calling to us to get up out of bed, and when that doesn't work Big Eyes slams the door to their cage up and down. . ; Big Eyes is jealous of Keety Bird and vice versa. Big Eyes, when I stroke Keety Bird's feathers, will grab my finger (not easy either) and pull It away and usually when you pet one, the other one is walk ing all over your hand or arm. Two things make them mad, when I wash my hair and paint the house.' They scold me constantly. They want constant human company in the . daylight hours. If I disappear into an other room for any length of time, Big Eyes will tear the paper in the bottom of her cage, slam the door up and down, or both of them walk around and around the wires on the side making all the noise they can: Many people buy parakeets and miss the enjoyment they bring by never giving them any attention, except to give them food and water. Ours have been taught to do tricks. They know our car from others.' If my husband comes home at night and walks by without saying any thing to them, they have a fit. They scold when he goes out tne door to work in tne morn ings. Anyone who is lonely, buy yourself a parakeet. I guar antee your loneliness will flee. Mrs. Delsey T. Casey Central Point, Ore. . Whistle, Sing, Smile To the Editor: I always feel sorry when I read a letter like J, M. wrote Sunday. I do not think he knows Mr. Clifford personally. We have found him to be a very nice, well educated per son who sees this country as Is, and one who looks, listens, reads and thinks things out before he expresses his find ings. , In the U.S. each has right to his belief. As I see the Cliffords, they like to take pictures, love music, are nature lovers, and are friends to friendly people. Mrs. Clifford's people set tled near Roxy Ann in the eighteen fifties. Both are far from being communists, nor would Mr. Clifford write any article that could cause any region to fall for dread communism. No doubt but there are peo ple of that belief in our coun try, but they will never con MEDFORD tha case. , vert our Uncle- Sam to such tommyrot. . : ' The Tribune's editor lets us use space for exchanging ideas, and usually I do not get very serious for I like to cheer people; especially old people, but I hope none of us will write letters that hurt others, i 1 I have an. idea that J. M. la out of work, worried,, and almost desperate, perhaps half sick, and feels that ev eryone is trying to get anoth er's goat.' ' To wear a chin on one's shoulder isn't the answer, it simply will not help matters. There have been times in my day that, though I never missed a meal, some of them were several days apart, but I whistled, sang and smiled. It helped. Try it. . Pearl Spackman Jacksonville, Ore. I Peace Corps Needs. . To the Editor: Surely there are many among us who share Mr. Pechner's feeling of con cern for the success or failure of the Youth For Peace Corps. (M.T. letter. "Peace Corns". April 21). That there exists a need for a more intimate re lationship between the peo ples of our country and those of foreign lands, must be a nationwide sentiment. Much depends upon the out come of this movement. If painstakingly studied and con scientiously engineered; and If the youth are carefully screened and adequately train ed, it could be an extremely beneficial venture for all con cerned. On the other hand, if the preparation is less than thorough, it could develop in to a ghastly disaster and a costly failure. . This Writer would be high ly skpetical of the success of the P. C. if the prevailing attitude held by a large per centage of adult Americans towards exotic races and creeds were not vastly modi fied and broadened by the newer conceptions of some of the younger generation. And, due, perhaps, to a more com plete training In the humani ties, social sciences, etc., - it does appear as though a some what more mentally independ ent and less class-conscious In dividual is in the process of development than the preced ing culture seems to have en couraged. In a recent article, Eleanor Roosevelt brings to the fore ground the' importance of an educational training program which will provide, "The abil ity to live and work among peoples of different race and religion, without arrogance and without prejudice." (Incl dently, the Communists are aware of this social truth and are applying the principles necessary to engender favor able results but of course their personal propaganda is a subtle part of the bargain). Mrs. Roosevelt wonders if the youth of today are gaining an adequate knowledge of the language, customs, and his tory of the peoples whose Ideas they not only must understand, but share, "if they are to reach them at all". It should not be forgotten that the chief purpose of the Peace Corps is to add a hu man element to our social and economic development pro grams. It seems logical, that in or der to be successful in a ven ture of such crulcal signifi cance, not only must there be a complete understanding of the cultures and philosophies of the peoples to be cultivated and assisted, but also an at titude of sincere respectful consideration. Wholeheartedly I agree with MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDfOHD, Differing Cuba and By PHIL NEWSOM UPI Foreign Mews Analyst As the United States take stock after setbacks In Cuba and Laos, this question oc curs: "Why does the Unit ed States rule We out military intervent ion against Con munist Cuba on its own doorstep while serious ly considering Hewsos it in South Viet Nam, away?" half a world For U.S. security, isn't Cuba the more important? A check of State Depart ment experts in Washington reveals that the answers are simple, the- reasons behind them more complex, . . Under the provisions of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organ ization the United States and the seven other SEATO mem bers are bound to defend Laos, Cambodia and South Strictly Personal By Sidney J. Harris . (c) General Features Corp. PERSONAL PREJUDICES Our fear of being dominat ed by macHlnes in the future is irrational, for our greatest enemy is our selves, not the machines, we create; it is jt worth remem bering that Mary Shel ley's hero F r a n k e n- u a e i u i me chanical serv ant in his robot, until he en dowed it with a human heart and only then did it become a monster. This is the whole moral of the book. . Most revolutionaries are potential reactionaries as history has shown for they suffer from the delusion that society can be put to rights by standing everything on its head; if successful, they are forced to maintain this arti ficial posture by the most repressive of measures. (What drives a man to one extreme before he has power is the same thing that drives him to the other extreme after achieving power.) Most of what we call BE. LIEF is HABIT; for every one person who has worked, suffered and thought his way through to his beliefs, a hun dred have fallen into' them by inheritance, laziness and self-interest. ... ' . . . . . Greed is a form of insanity, cruelty is a form of weakness, hatred is a form of self-hatred; until we openly recognize these simple psychological truths, we cannot begin: to have a genuine civilization. There is a great moral gulf dividing the man who thinks I am as good as anyone else," and the man who thinks "Ev eryone is as good as me"; it is terribly easy for most of us to accept the first state ment without at all accepting the second as its corollary. Insects cooperate to wage war against their common en emy: Man. But Man wages war against himself and will not cooperate to wage war against bisects; and this is what we call Higher Evolu tion. One of the most profound and perceptive statements of modern times was made by Niels Bbhr, the Danish scien tist, when he observed: "There are trivial truths and there are great truths. The opposite of trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true." , Although the laws change over the centuries, it still re mains a perplexing fact that he who commits a small theft Is given a relatively stiffer punishment that he who com mits a large theft. In 1764, the New Englanders bad a favorite piece of doggeral il lustrating this point: 'The law doth punish man or woman That steals the goose from off the common, But lets the greater felon loose, That steals the common from the goose." Every good writer knows that an exclamation point di minishes the Impact of a sen tence, and is a sign of literary impotence; likewise, shouting reduces the force of an argu ment, a command, or a plea. Mr. Pechner, that to under eslmate the vital importance of this phase of the program Is to fall. Thelma Carson Star Route Box 60 Prospect, Ore. I awj 4 OREGON Positions of U.S. Regarding Laos Examined; Reasons Given Viet Nam against Communist aggression should such action be requested by any of the three states. Therefore, the United States would be on firm legal ground If it should supply troops to Today & Tomorrow By Walter Uppmann ' .:'. ) (e) New York Herald Trlbuna Syndicate , TO OURSELVES BE TRUE ; We have been forced to ask ourselves recently how a free and open society can compete wltn a totali tarian state. This is a cru cial question. Can our West-1 em society survive and flourish if it remains . true to its own faith and prin- Lippmaaa ' clples? Or must it abandon them in order to fight fire wiih fire? There are those who be lieve that in Cuba the at tempt to fight fire with fire would have succeeded if only the President had been more ruthless and had had no scru ples ' about using American forces. I think they are wrong, I think that success for the Cuban adventure was impos sible. In a free' society like ours a policy is bound to fail which deliberately violates our pledges and our princi ples, our treaties and our laws. It is not possible' for a free and open society to or ganize successfully a spectac ular conspiracy. The United States, like every other government, must employ secret agents. But the United States cannot success fully conduct large secret con spiracies. It is impossible to keep them secret. It is impos sible for everybody concern ed, beginning with the Presi dent himself, to be sufficient ly ruthless and unscrupulous. The American conscience is a reality. It will make hesi tant and ineffectual, even if it does not prevent, an un American policy. The ulti mate reason why the Cuban affair was incompetent is that it was out of character, like a 'cow that' tried to fly or a fish that tried to walk. TT FOLLOWS that In the great struggle with Com' munism, we must find our strength by developing and applying our own principles, not in abandoning them. Be fore anyone tells me that this is sissy, I should like to say why I believe it, especially after listening carefully and at some length to Mr. Khru shchev. I am very certain that we shall have the answer to Mr. Khrushchev if, but only if, we stop being fasci nated by the cloak and dag ger business and, being true to ourselves, take our own principles seriously. . . , MR. K. is a true believer that Communism is des tined to supplant capitalism as capitalism supplanted feu dalism. For him this is an absolute dogma, and he will tell you that while he in tends to do what he can to assist the inevitable, know ing that we will do what we can to oppose the inevitable, what he does and what we do will not be decisive. Destiny will be realized no matter what men do. The dogma of Inevitability not only gives him the self- assurance of a man who has no doubts but is a most pow erful ingredient of the Com munist propaganda. What do we say to him, we who be lieve in a certain freedom of the human will and in the ca pacity of men to affect the course of history by their dis coveries, their wisdom, and their courage? WE CAN say that In Mr. K's dogma there is an un examined premise. It Is that the capitalist society la static, that it is and always will be what it was when Marx de scribed It a hundred years ago, that to use Mr. K's own lingo there is no difference between Governor Rocke feller and his grandfather. Because a capitalist society cannot change, In its dealings with tha under- developed countries it can only dominate and exploit. It cannot emanci pate and help. If it could emancipate and help, the in evitability of Communism would evaporate. I venture to argue from this analysis that the reason we are on the defensive In so many places is that for some ten years we have been doing exactly what Mr; K. ex pects us to do. We have used money and arms in a long losing attempt to stabilize na South Viet Nam at the re quest of President Ngo Dinh Diem. Last week, with more than 10,000 Communist guerrillas roaming the back country and striking close to Saigon itself, tive governments which, in the name of anti-Communism, are opposed to all im portant social change. This has been exactly what Mr. K.'s dogma ..calls for that Communism should be the only alternative to the status quo with its immemorial pov erty and privilege. ' ' ' , .a . ' ' '."'.' WE CANNOT compete' with Communism in Asia, Afri ca, or Latin America if we go on doing what we have done so often and so widely which is to place the ' weak countries in a dilemma where they must stand still with us and our client rulers, or start moving with the Communists. This dilemma cannot be dis solved unless it is our central and persistent and unswerv ing policy to offer, these un happy countries a third op tion, .which is economic de velopment and social im provement without the totali tarian, discipline of Commu nism; '" ' ' . 5 '. For the only real alterna tive to Communism is a lib eral and progressive society. Matter of Fatt by (c) New York Herald THE CRIME IN THE COUNTRYSIDE Hong Kong - At 52 years of age, Huang En-Hsu is a fair embodiment sof the. remark able qualities of the Chinese peasant mass es. His face is weatherwo r n but often lighted by a humoro u s grin; his body is workworn but tough and Alaep wiry: his hands, almost as hard as shoe soles, tell his life story of un remitting toil for small re wards. ...... .... In all his more than a half century of life, Huang En-Hsu had never got very far from his native village until a few weeks ago. Then a fellow villager, a fisherman by trade, came to him secretly at the end of the day's work to say he was sailing-for Hong Kong that night. Only one place was still vacant in the frail fish ing sampan. So Huang En- Hsu abandoned his wife, his children, and his native place and fled with other friends of the fisherman to this city of tne refugees. , What could drive a mature, courageous man to leave be hind everything in the world he had known and loved, on no more than an instant's no tice, and with no bright fu ture awaiting him in Hong Kong either? The answer to this question lies in Huang's story of what has been hap pening to his Village, which is called Huo Hsuen Hsiang. TN THE old days, he says - proudly, it was a prosperous coastal village, with salt pans and fishing boats to supple ment the produce of the land. Some 1700 people lived there then, but there are less than 1900 now. On being asked what had caused the village population to shrink by more than 10 per cent, Huang an wered with a shrug: - "Many have died and some have run away." Stolidly,. Huang explains that "many must die" when all are condemned to living, for years on end, as the peoole of his village have been liv ing. "Last year it was bad," he says; "this year it is worse." Last year, it seems, a working farmer's ration was 14 ounces of bad rice per day - less than a pound of starch for 12 hours of work, seven days a week. This year, the work is no lighter, and the ratlop is down to 12 ounces of rice.'or a few bowls of sweet potato mush when there is no rice. : With the rice, nothing else is provided - not an ounce of oil or meat or fish per month. "But the heavy workers did get a special issue of three ounces of meat on New Year's Day," adds Huang with a de lighted grin of recollection. a OUT what about the private plots the Communist gov ernment recently allowed the peasants to till, Huang is ask ed. He gives a snort of disgust and does a curious pantomime of a Communist official grandiloquently pointing to a steep hillside and offering the people this wasteland for their very own. As In every other Chinese village, every Inch of President Kennedy an nounced: - - 'The problem of troops if . . . still under consideration." The Philippines and Thai, land already believed that SEATO had failed in its ob ligations to Laos and a firm stand in South Viet Nam seemed the only alternative to writing off the whole of Southeast Asia. . In Cuba, an opposite situa tion faced the United States. , As a signatory of the Or ganization of American States it was pledged to a policy of non-intervention unless a ma jority of the states agreed that Cuba was under Com munist domination or control and thus constituted a "threat to the sovereignty and pol litical independence of the American States." - Working against U.S. chances of an OAS majority were old Latin American sus picions and an ingrained dis taste for intervention in their own affairs. .. But this week there was apparent an atmosphere of change. Eight Latin American nations had severed their re lations with Castro and others were under pressure. . But if, in a meeting of American foreign ministers next month, a majority still could not be obtained, there remained President Kennedy's warning: 1 ' i. "I want It clearly under stood that this government will not hesitate in meeting its primary obligations, which are the security of our na tion." i Joseph Alsop Tribune Syndicate tillable land had long since been tilled already. None of this good land was released to the peasants. So the "private pots" meant tiny pockets of earth laboriously scraped out of the wastelands, where ona might grow a pumpkin or two or three or four heads of cab bage. "It was hardly worth it," Huang adds bitterly, "for you could not guard your plot all night; and if it was not guard ed, thieves were sure to come." Then he added somberly that he. did not blame his neighbors who stole In this fashion, since so many of the people were falling ill from want of nourishment. How many, he is asked. He answers that at least one in four nf tha . able-bodied men In the village t now have swollen ankles - tho : first symptom of the onset of the harsh deficiency disease, beri bed. His own ankles had swollen long before he fled. "JiHERE is no treatment," he continues. "How can there be any treatment when the government has already taken all the food the village produces? The cadres make us carry the harvest to the store houses. The government trucks come to take it away; and after that even the cadres cannot get it back. So the cadres drive all those to work: who are still able to work, and those who are too weak to work are left to die." At the. end of this charming account, Huang is asked how he lives in Hong Kong and whether he is better off here. The latter question is an swered by a great guffaw of laughter. He lives as a casual laborer, earning the equiva lent of 35 American cents a day. But with 35 cents a day, you can get two good big meals In the Hong Kong cook shops. So of course he is ten times better off. The point about this story of Huang's is that it is hum drum, average, utterly unsen sational. Sensational horrors have indeed begun to be re ported by occasional refugees from Communist China. There have been tales of canibalism. There was even the tale, told by an obviously well balanced trained nurse from North China, of the hospital where it was discovered that after births from the maternity ward had been cooked and eaten. BUT Huang's story has been chosen from a great many collected by this reporter and from many scores collected by other competent reporters, precisely because it is a rep resentative story. Conditions In his village - the unending round of enforced work; the daily ration of much less than a pound of starch with little or no supplement; the pre valence of beri beri; and all the rest - are the same condi tions described, with monoto nous regularity, by all the recent peasant refugees who have been questioned. The condition of Huang's village is in fact the present condition of rural China. In fact the magnitude of the crime in the Chinese coun tryside is now beyond dispute. Its meaning, which is more arguable, will be examined In tha next report
