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Flight o' Time
Medlord and Jackson County
History from the tiles ot The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Aug. 7, 1952 (Thursday)
Col. Ben Stafford, former
Jackson county Civilian De
fense director, was elected
chairman of the Jackson
County Red Cross chapter.
From an advertisement:
"Through one of those silly
little accounting errors, we
received an Oregon State bo
nus check yesterday for $40,
000.23. We certainly feel no
ble for the honest thing we
did. We sent back (he 2li
cents."
20 YEARSAGO
Aug. 7. 1942 (Friday)
Hood River plan to over
come labor shortage by pack
ing all fresh fruit at one grade
Is rejected by Rogue Valley
fruit growers.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "The
01st infantry division will be
activated here next Saturday.
It will be the greatest mili
tary event in the history of
this section. Soldiers will
march, flags will fly. bands
will play and people will
shout like they did in World
War I."
30 YEARS AGO
Aug. 7. 1932 (Sunday)
Mrs. Harry Prentice, Med
ford, completes two weeks
training by swimming across
Lake of the Woods in half
an hour.
40 YEARS-AGO
Aug. 7, 1922 (Monday)
Ben Bowers narrowly es
capes injury in tussle with a
bear near the head of Neil
rn-rk; bear finally flees when
Bowers puts four shots in him.
Jerry Jerome returns from
Klks convention at Atlantic
City.
SO YEARS AGO
Aug. 7. 1912 (Wednesday)
Fred Carrilt breaks all
known records for walking
to Crater lake from Medlord
by doing it in two days.
Medford madhouse is clos
ed for I Ho second time by
Jlisdicl Attorney Mulkey and
Acting Chief Cingcade.
What's Your I.Q.7
Nine or ten correct is superior;
seven or eight is excellent; live or
sil is good.
1. Newton Minuw is chair-1
man of what federal govern-!
luont agency?
2. Name the two islands on
w li i c h Napoleon Bonaparte ;
was successi ely confined. j
,'t. Can swans fly-1 !
4 Is Niagara Falls roccd-;
lug'.' i
5 Which President of Hie
United States was shortest in .
Mature? I
ti What was the trade of "a
certain man named Demi-'
Inns"? ,
7 Is Wash i n t I n it. H ('.. I
north or south of the Mason
and lh.MHi line.'
8 From whal M'lious dis
ease riiri Julius Caesar suffer-' ;
Jl. litis a cappella choir auv ;
musical accompaniment'.' '
10. Is linseed oil made from .
the seeds of buckwheat, flax, i
or soybeans? j
Answers; 1. Federal Com j
munications Commission. 2.
Elba and St. Helena. 3. Yes.
4. Yes. 5. James Madison. 6
Silversmith. 7. South. 9. Epi
lepsy. 9. No. 10. Flax.
TELL TaTesTgN
London U't Miss Frances
Curtis, 2.1, a scnelaiy. said
i-he knows she lives in an area
lieipirnted by Americans "be
rause I see their gum stuck
nn my door posts."
TUbaUAI. AUuuai . ItfbJ
A Commentary?
Many expressions of
been sounded in recent
sense of values what
unimportant.
This thought turned
we inspected the front
Francisco Chronicle. Rather more than one-half
of the page reported the death of Marilyn Mon
roe, under a huge, eight -
headline.
Next in importance
line headline announcing
explosion.
MEXT was a four-column head at the bottom of
1 the page telling of Attorney General Robert
F. Kennedy's talk at the Rar Association con
vention. There was one other news story about Sherri
Finkbine's arrival in Sweden to seek an abortion.
The rest of the page
Lxtra banner, an advertisement, an announce
ment that stores will remain open until 9 o'clock,
a "Who Am I" puzzle tickler, an index, and a
weather box.
That was all.
XE WONDER if this is a true commentary on
what Americans think is important, or inter
esting. Probably it is, in a way. For the details
of Miss Monroe's death and earlier life will be
read avidly.
Her death has been called a tragedy. And in
a way it is, even in the classic sense of a person
being destroyed by a fatal flaw, a weakness or
trait of character that leads inevitably to self
destruction. In this case this woman had two things a
sort of sexy beauty and a fresh sort of naivete
that put her on top. But she lacked the inner
strength and stability to cope with sudden fame,
and all its myriad attendant pressures.
TlE CAN feel sorry for her. Perhaps pity is a
better word, and it is the word used by Os
servatore Romano, the Vatican City newspaper,
in commenting on her death.
Yet we may still be permitted to wonder
whether her death ranks anywhere near in genu
ine importance to many other events of the clay.
Still, the Chronicle's judgment in devoting
more than half of its front page to her death
probably is a lairly accurate rei lection ot what
most Americans want to read. The motivation
behind this is what troubles us, however. Do we
read of the sordid details of her life and death
out of mere morbidity, or because they constitute
a real and moving allegory of human existence?
Perhaps both. E.A.
Better Than Illiteracy
Poet Kenneth Rexroth spoke at the Univer
sity of Oregon in Eugene the other day, and
during his stay was interviewed by Register
Guard Reporter Don Robinson.
The quotation we liked best was this:
"The Book-of-the-Month Club is not cultural
Utopia. But it's a hell of a lot better than illit
eracy." In expanding on this he said that the produc
tion and consumption of things cultural on a
mass scale indicates a continuously rising level
of culture in the population. And he added that
among other things this means that the artist
painter, poet, musician has more opportunity to
circulate generally through society.
TTHIS is true. We do not yet have, and may
never have, the "ideal" kind of democratic
society where all people are educated, culturally j
attuned, and capable of making the basic dcci-!
sions of self-government on a well-informed 1
basis. '
But we're closer to this ideal than at mostj
other times in the past. Mass education is a rela-;
tively recent phonomcnon, and hardly has yet!
ll:wl nn m mni'i i in it r In nrni'ii itlf II ic -ili in I
the process of changing to meet changing needs
and aims. What the outcome may be, after some
generations, one can only speculate.
But a climate in which even the Book-of-the-Month
club can survive, in which the sale of good
records anil magazines is at an all-time high,
which supports a half-hundred full-fledged sym
phonv orchestras, is, indeed, "a hell of a lot better
than "illiteracy." E.A.
Short Summer
There are days when the most frequently
heard remark is "Hot enough for you?" Other
days, it's "Cold enough for you?"
Yesterday and this morning, as the warm wel
come rain fell, the comment was "Short summer,
wasn't it?" E.A.
JUST AMONG US EXECUTIONERS
Wo mc citizens of Orotion We Mipport its U.
The s.is i.hitn.brr is part of Oregon law.
In Oregon, a murderer's just comeuppance 15 death
in the gas chamber.
hat s Ills aNaine will die in Oregon s (Ms chain- i
brr on Aug 20 for minder most foul. j
What s His Name will get his just comeuppance.
It's unfortunate that What's His Name has nerves i
and a brain and hands, ecs. feet, legs and arms, a
stomach, and a heart that pumps blood. j
It's too bad that Wh.it'j His Name was crcalrd m j
Mods own image, juM as if lie were a nice person 1
like us j
We know be in I a nice prison like us. j
We II see hr gels his ju-t comeuppance.
We ate exccuUoncis. j
Portland Reporter I
worry and dismay have
years about Americans'
is important and what is
idly over in our mind as
pace of yesterday s San
column, two-line banner
was a two-column, two-
a huge Russian nuclear
was taken up with a big
"At- You Were Saying, Neighbor, Youth Will
Be Youth"
COMMUNICATIONS
Letters to the Editor must bear the rume and address of the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial
for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with j view to clarification and condensation. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the
paper; in fact the contrary is ofton the case.
In the Sight of God
To the Editor: The revolt
against reason takes on many
forms. Not that reason hasn't
been tried and failed, but
rather not adequately tried.
The mind unaided by the
heart never provides total
answers and reasoning with
out faith could be disastrous.
There must be a happy me
dium. Man cannot live oy
reason alone nor can he live
without it. The mind is part
of the spirit and soul, the
only instrument used in con
tacting God.
The very best works one
can do determine how close
he will ever come to God or
heaven. Too much spiritual
faith without reason causes
man to lose reality and re
sponsibility. Every man has a
part to play on this earth. He
was put here for a reason.
Having fulfilled his obliga
tion his body lies a prisoner
in the grave while the mind
and spirit are free to drift
about the universe. They re
turn to God the giver who
just happens to be every
where. Eventually all shall under
stand that all human bondage
is an invention of ignorance.
I am not discouraged by set
backs for they remind me that
1 must learn a better approach
to fulfillment and encourage
me to plan more wisely to ac
complish my aims. The power
to overcome renders me Im
mune from failure and fits
me for success in what ever
1 would have, do or be. I
choose God's guidance in all
1 do, think and say.
I receive God's grace in
full proportion to my spirit
ual understanding through
which all things become pos
sible. As my understanding
rises level with my faith, I
demonstrate to the fullest.
I respect the council of
others whose experience ex
ceeds mine, grateful for their
guidance, I hoar persons but
I heed the guidance ol God
from whom the power was
given me to rule over any !
adverse situation or condition I
in my life. What the heart j
desires the mind can acconi- j
plish. For this -.knowledge I '
am ever grateful. i
Each morning I awake, re-:
born inlo a personal world of
my own making. I vision a
better life, peace, good will
and understanding. Having
forgiven yesterday's mistakes
and inisiudgmonts, 1 grant I
shall make better of this new
day.
Knowing there is no prog
ress without change 1 accept
change without hindrance, yet
attach not too much impor
tance to new things of un
proved or passing value. I I
do not wasle my seeds of
thought on exhausted ground
of the past. 1 will not be
deceived nor misled by any
person or thing What 1 do is
in the sight of God.
F. Dykes
Box SH
Eagle Point. Ore.
Not Gambling I
To the Kdilnr- This vit
week end I spent consulting
an rMmiali'd SO people of all
walks of life m regards to a
state lottery hospital benefit :
All that 1 interviewed ap
peared to bp very much in
terested One of the questions aked
was, isn't a lottery gambling'
It's not, as I see it. In fact, I
would not try to promote any
thing that w as gambling, as ;
I do not gamble myself.
This lottery n person do
naies. in time of need, they
receive,
H a pciswii purchased a
lucky tickci, I believe that ,
they could consider it a token
for their effort. Gambling, as
1 see it, is when a person has
an ache or a p.im and the
first thought is to join a pn-1
vale hospital plan, of which
premiums run from S6.80 to
$13. SO or more per month.
After paying these premiums
for four to five years waiting
for something to happen, then
your favorite doctor says, in
the hospital you must go.
Upon entering, the attendant
informs you that your policy
does not cover everything,
$100 deposit is needed for the
hospital's security.
When the finai statement
is presented, John now re
alizes that his policy only
paid two-thirds, in some cases
only one-half of his bill.
John started out as a swin
dler, later realized (hat he
got took. This as I see it, is
gambling.
I would ralher purchase
two 50 cent tickets per week
instead, for a state lottery
hospital fund, which would be
practical, reasonable and not
considered gambling.
All 30 that I interviewed,
after a short debate, wished
me well for my effort. At
present, I am receiving letters
from some of our column
readers in regards to this lot
tery plan. Kindly write to
our local stale senator instead.
Thank you.
Howard H. Brown
007 Gilman rd.
Medford.
Rare Special
To the Editor: Very few
people in the Rogue River
Valley remember me, but I
became quite famous when I
wuz going to high school in
Ashland. It wuz when I left
for a big game hunt in Africa.
I never got any farther than
Portland, but I came home
with a very rare specimen, an
Apperson Jackrabbit.
F.verctt Acklin,
Ashland, Ore.
What Kind of Reasoning?
To the Editor: So the old
saw "the end justifies the
means'' is rearing its secular
head again.
If. as Webster defines it,
the soul is a 'lifc force.' then
the soul is present at the be
ginning of life. To end that
life, willfully by abortion, is
murder. refiarriU-ss of any mis
guided humanitarian motives.
I was frankly surprised at
your editorial. Considering
your many editorials ajiainst
capital punishment, I had con
eluded that human life, to
you. must be very sacred in
deed. What kind of reasoning
protests that the state has no
right to take the life of a
criminal but advocates the
right of the state to take the
life of a child?
llenc Hull
7 Eastwood dr.
Medford.
Drivers Honored By
Insurance Company
For records that prove their
professional driving skill,
eight drivers for the Medford
Vrnerr and Plywood corpora
tion, won recognition rccrn'ly
from the firm's insurance car
rier Those w ho received awards.
together with tiie number of.
years of accident-free driving ;
to their credit, were: Alvin !
Kller. 8 years; Jack W. Little.
7; Walter Prince, .V Donald
T. Wright. Charles W. Mad-:
den. Robert ,V Doyle. 4; Ger
ald riiclan. 2: and Edward L. i
Dw.ght, I year
Alvin Kller also received an
award for driving one half
million consecutive accident
tree miles.
Professional drivers
throughout the country are
similarly honored each var
by their insurance carrier.
Employers Mutual of Wan
s.tu, for e.uh e,ir of accident- :
free driving performance. I
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFOHD. OREGON
European
Possible As Negotiation Log-Jam Cracks
By JOSEPH W. GRIGG
United Press International
Paris-tUPIi-Westcrn Europe's
leaders are talking again
about the dream of a politically-united
Europe.
A three-month log-jam in
political unity negotiations ap
pears to have been cracked.
Prospects look good now for
a Western European "little
summit" meeting in Rome in
September at which plans for
a politically united Europe
will be launched again-this
time with real chances of suc
cess. The six European Common
Market countries -France,
West Germany, Italy, Bel
gium, The Netherlands and
Luxembourg-have been try
ing since last summer to agree
on a blueprint for a politically
united Western Europe.
They have achieved an
amazing degree o success in
Drummond Reports
(Walter Lippmann Is on vacation. Roscoe Drummond reports from
Washington in his absence.) (c) 1962 New York Herald Tribune Inc.
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE?
Washington How would
you grade yourself in your
knowledge of present - day
communism? Do you figure
you would come off pretty
well in a fair examination,
or do you think a passing
mark might be a little diffi
cult - as it was for some of
the Marines when Sen. Strom
Thurmond's questioners asked
them about Marxist dialec
tics? I'm not talking about trick
questions: I'm talking about
reasonable and topical ques
tions which laymen, not just
the experts, ought to know
about. For example, how
many of the following ques
tions can you answer to your
own satisfaction:
DOES the expression "dic
tatorship of the proletari
at" mean that the workers
rule Soviet Russia? What is
the reason for your answer?
How many political parties
are there in the Soviet Un
ion? What reason would a Com
munist party worker give for
Strictly
Personal
By Sydney J. Harris
(c field Enterprises Inc.
PRtNCIPLES VS.
PERSON ALITITES
Most people are incapable
of separating personalities
from principles. What they
feel about a person inevitably
beclouds their ideas of ab
stract justice; and both lib
erals and conservations are
equally guilty of this.
I received a number of
nasty letters attacking me for
my brief observations on the
Eichmann case. So far as I am
concerned, the trial was im
proper, and the verdict was
foolish, futile, and vengeful.
The fact that Eichmann was
a cold-hearted monster has
nothing at all to do with the
principle of the case. Caryl
Chessman was also a monster
of a sort and yet his execu
tion was stupid and barbarous.
We no not have to like a man
in order to dislike the way he
is treated.
Indeed, many of the men
who have been persecuted
by society have been un
lovely creatures. Captain
Dreyfus, for instance, was
a prig and a fool. But hit
conviction was a frame-up,
and good men like Zola
were right in defending
him, even though he was
personally distasteful.
In his amusing new book
of essays, "Rocking the
Boat," Gore Vidal points
out that Dreyfus himself
would have been an anti
Dreyfusard if the tables had
been turned.
"The essential foolishness
of the man Dreyfus is beau
tifully revealed by a true
story." Vidal writes. "The
son of one of his friends
was expelled from school
for cheating. The friend was
furious. He was certain his
son had not cheated. He ap
pealed to Dreyfus. What did
he think? After much
thought, the man whose
name is forever associated
with the idea of justice,
said: 'Well, where there's
smoke, there's fire.' " i
. . . j
Tom Mooney, also a victim
of injustice tn the 1920s in
our country, was another in-,
tolerable man pompous, self
important, and one of the
worst prima donnas in the la-!
bor movement. Beside, he
was supported and inflated
by the Communist Party, who
used his imprisonment for
their own propaganda pur
poses. Yet we c.mnot allow even
so una!tr.u'ti e a man to suf-.
fer prison uniustly. even
wnon we basically disagree
with Ins viewpoint Civil lib
erties have no meaning unless
Political Unity Again
the field of economic unity.
Their aim is to try to match
this with a political union
which ultimately would point
the way to a United States of
Europe sometime in the fu
ture. But they have run into
some major snags along the
way. Chief of these is that
some of the Common Market
countries are shooting for a
genuine political union, in
cluding a European govern
ment and elected parliament
and other "supranational" fea
tures. Strongest supporters of such
a plan are Belgium and the
Netherlands.
But French President
Charles de Gaulle, who is
against any surrender ot
French national sovereignty,
has vetoed this blueprint. He
wants nothing stronger than a
loose federation of independ-
the Soviet view of freedom of
speech in the USSR?
How do the Communists
justify the one-party system?
About what percentage of
Russian adults belong to the
Communist party?
What is meant by the "new
Soviet man"?
How did the cold war start?
What are five or more once
free European countries taken
over by the Soviet Union?
Wherein do labor unions in
the U. S. and Russia differ in
organization and control?
What does "neutralist"
mean?
How does communism ap
peal to idealists?
IF YOU fail to satisfy your
self on the foregoing ques
tions and would like better
answers to them along with
several hundred other ques
tions on communism I can
tell you where to get them.
You can get them in compact,
clear, factual, informative
style by going to a bookstore
or writing to the publishers,
D. Van Nostrand company,
120 Alexander si., Princeton,
N. J., and ordering a copy of
the book, "The Menace of
Communism." It is written by
two knowledgeable political
and social science teachers,
Kenneth Colegrove and Hall
Bartlett, at C. W. Post col
lege, Long Island university.
The authors have done such
an authoritative job of analyz
ing the political, economic,
and social aspects of commu
nism that "The Menace of
Communism" has won the ap
proval of the conservative In
stitute of Fiscal and Political
Education. They have been so
objective that they have won
the disapproval of the John
Birchers.
It's an excellent hook. John
Marshall, president of Mar
shall Institute, reports that it
has already placed 10,000 cop
ies in the public schools. I
found it most rewarding read
ing. A Spanish edition is soon
to be published.
...
nPHEnE is a recent addition
1 to the literature on com
munism which is a valuable
tool for both the layman and
the educator. It is R. H. Shack
ford's book, "The Truth About
Soviet Lies" (Public Affairs
Press, Washington, D. C). Mr.
Shackford is the astute for
eign correspondent of the
Scripps-Howard newspapers.
He has watched the Commu
nists in action in every cru
cial area of the cold war.
"The world," Mr. Shack
ford points out, "is inundated
day after day. month after
month, year after year, with
a torrent of words that flows
from the Kremlin, from the
rival Communist capital n
Peking, and from all the an
cillary capitals and organiza
tions of those centers of Marx
isms . . . Never in the his
tory of mankind have words
been such an important part
of the effort of a 'system' to
convert, nerverl anH cnht-rri
man, whether he already be
a communist, a sympathizer,
or just a potential victim."
Mr. Shackford does not iton
at just making clear the dif
ference in meanings which
we and the Communists attach
to the same words. He pro
duces a revealing and mag
nificently documented study
of what he calls "the perfec
tion of the lie."
From Khrushchev's decla
ration of the war hp .-all
peace, to Moscow's announce
ment that it has "abolished
taxes." Mr Shackford' re
port needs to be read hv all
of tis.
they are extended lo people
we dislike and disagree with:
it is enormously easy to be
fair to those we feel friendlv
to.
The real test of a society is
its devotion to principles: and
by tins test, most societies
have failed miserably Genu
ine liberals are rarer than
we think: most people arc
willing to overlook their
principles when fear, anger.:
hate or self-interest begin
pounding In their breast.. I
ent, sovereign states, whose
leaders would meet periodi
cally to discuss political pol
icy, defense and cultural re
lations. West German Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer, originally
one of the "supre-national-ists,"
now has moved closer
towards the line of thinking
of De Gaulle, whom he great
ly admires.
The whole problem has
been enormously complicated
by Great Britain's request for
admission to the Common
Market.
At a conference in Paris
last April, Belgium and the
Washington Report
By William
(CI United Feature Syndicate
SPLIT IMAGE
Wash ington Stripping
away any toadying to the
administration or partisan
rancor toward
it, one may
fairly ask:
Where does
P r e s i dent
Kennedy now
really stand?
D i s p a ssion
ate anal ysis
suggests some
con elusions.
The Presi
dent's personal popularity is
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
There's grim news on the
wires.
A week ago today a British
research scientist was stricken
at Britain's micro - biological
research establishment at Por
ton Downs, in an isolated area
of historic Salisbury Plain,
site of the mysterious group of
stones known as Stonehenge.
He died on Thursday, only
four days after being stricken.
On Friday night, 24 hours af
ter his death, its cause was
identified as pneumonic
plague - the dread BLACK
PLAGUE that ravaged Europe
in the Middle Ages. He had
been working on the Black
Plague germ.
WHAT of the Black Plague?
Let's let Winston
Churchill tell the story. He
says in his History of the Eng
lish Speaking Peoples:
'"THE character of the pes--
tilence (Black Plague)
was appalling. The disease it
self, with its frightful symp
toms, the swift onset, the
blotches, the hardening of the
glands under the armpit or in
the groin, the horde of viru
lent carbuncles which fol
lowed the dread harbingers of
death, the delirium, the insan
ity, the blank spaces which
opened on all sides in human
society, stunned and for a
time destroyed the life and
faith of the world.
"This affliction, added lo all
the severities of the Middle
Ages, was more than the hu
man spirit could endure. The
Church, smitten like the rest
in body, was wounded griev
ously in spiritual power. If a
God of mercy ruled the world,
what sort of rule was this?
"Such was the challenging
thought which swept upon the
the survivors. Weird sects
sprang into existence, and
plague-haunted cities saw the
procession of flagellants, each
lashing his fore-runner to a
dismal dirge, and ghoulish
practices glare at us from the
broken annals, tt seemed to be
the death rattle of the race."
BUT
Eventually I h e Black
Plague was conquered. Doc
tors do not know yet any drug
that certainly kills the plague
bacillus. But it was discov
ered that rats are the carriers
of the plague. Then it was dis
covered that fleas bite the rats
and thus get the germ of the
plague. Then the fleas bite
persons and transmit the ba
cillus to the person bitten.
The next step was to exter
minate the rats. When you
board an ocean'liner. you note
the shields hung on the moor
ing lines. These arc to prevent
rats from getting from the
pier to the ship. The purpose
of that is to prevent the spread
of the Black Plague.
While no drug has been dis
covered that infallibly kills
the B'.ack Plague bacillus,
these sanitation measures have
conquered the SPREAD of the
deadly killer. So the death of
the British scientist the other
day no longer terrifies the
world.
'HY recite all this now?
This is why:
MAN'S ingenuity and per-;
sistence CONQl'ERED :
THE SPREAD OF THE
BLACK PLAGUE.
So--
It may he that in time man's ;
ingrmntv and persistence mav '
CONQUER THE SPREAD OF,
THE NUCLEAR BOMB AND
PREVENT ITS FUTURE USE;
IN" WARFARE. I
Seems
Netherlands refused flatly to
go ahead with the political
unity talks until it is known
whether Britain will b a
Common Market member or
not.
But during Adenauer's re
cent state visit to Paris he
and De Gaulle agreed that po
litical unity negotiations
should be lifted off dead-center
as soon as possible.
The next stage now is ex
pected to be the meeting in
Rome at which De Gaulle,
Adenauer and other govern,
ment heads of "the six" will
try to gel the whole political
unity Idea off to a new, more
auspicious start.
S. White
still high, though probably not
nearly so high as is suggested
in the polls. For these polls
have a grave defect. To ask
people some such general
question as, "How do you
think the President is doing?'"
will usually return a mislcad
ingly high favorable response.
He is, in such questions, not
running against anybody else.
The general inquiry is, in
short, far different from the
very pointed question asked
in the polling booths: Do you
prefer this President to that
specific, concrete contender
for President named so-and-so?
ALL the same, there Is no
real doubt that Mr. Ken
nedy would be reelected if
the 1964 election were (jield
today. There is, however,
much evidence that while he
personally is still generally
approved, many of his pro.
grams and advisers are not.
The reason for this seeming
inconsistency is not hard to
find.
His hold on the clectorale
results from a wide and cor
rect impression that in the
one really vital present thing
in our lives, the cold war,
the president is behaving with
courage and skill and without
partisan motives. The next
biggest real concern of the
people the state of business
is reducing his edge of pop
ularity but has not cut it be
low the safety level.
In a word, it is along the
oldest frontier of all that,
frontier defining a nation's
safety from without that
Kennedy is doing well. And
it is along the new frontier
that area of domestic innova
tion and tinkering in which
he is not doing so well.
THE smallest look al the ac
tions of the present Demo
cratic Congress shows this is
precisely the case. For lliis
Congress has been generous
in support of the President
for what really matters - for
eign policy, foreign aid, for
eign trade, defense - and fru
gal in the support of the
President on New Frontier ac
tions. Kennedy's difficulties with
Congress (and this columnist
believes with the country, too)
have not come from his role
as this country's one national
leader in facing the perils. ar.1l
costs, of the cold war. Thoso
difficulties have come in his
requests to Congress for oo
much too soon on things like
medical care and urban re
form and so on.
These are not in themselves
insignificant. But in relation
ship to the immense and owr
i riding problem of the cold
war and the next greatest,
problem, the economy, tliry
are presently almost irrelev
ant, both to Congress and to
the country.
Again, it is wrong to pre
sent these difficulties as the
work of "the Republicans"
and to suggest that if ouiy
more Democrats are elected
to Congress all will be well.
It is not "the Republicans"
who have balked the Presi
dent so much as it is the
Democrats.
...
IND among the Dcmcr.'ts
x the real source of trouble
has not been the moderates
and conservatives so much as
the liberals. True, the moderate-conservatives
have check
ed him on nonessentials. But
they have massively upheld
and strengthened him in the
one part of his administration
which has been really success
ful - the conduct of the coH
war.
But the liberals have end
lessly pulled and hauled at
him to concern himself, in
this time of universal crisis,
with comparatively piddling
and foredoomed domestic re
forms. These, in inevitably
tailing, have made him look
comparatively weaker than
he need , have looked. Te
score for his Congressional
program looks poor primarily
because he has insisted upon
going domestically most nf
the time with liberals, despite
an involvement in history m
which what that wing hsj
offered is second rate in im
portance and Inopportune la
timing.