4 A
I!EDF0RDS3.TRIBUN8
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HERB GREY. Advertislns Manage
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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
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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