Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989, October 25, 1962, Image 4

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    THURSDAY,
"Everyone In Southern Oregon
Be"dJL!Lh-Ii!L3rf ?u."""
Published Duly except Saturday DT
MEDFORD PRINTING CO.
33 North Fir St., PhU-SU
ROBERT W. P.UHL. Editor
HERB GREY Advertising Manager
GERALD T LATHAM. Bu Mgr.
ERIC W ALLEN JR, Mng. Editor
EARL H ADAMS. City Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN. Telej Editor
RICHARD JEWETT. SporU Editor
OLIVE STARCHER Women'a Editor
DALE ERICKSON. ClrculaUon Mir
An Independent Newapaper
Intered as second class matter l
Medford. Oregon, under Act of
March 3. 1897
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
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Daily and Sunday 1 yearl00
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Official Paper of City of Medford
Official Paper of Jackson County
UnTted Preaa International
Full Leaied Wire
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ATES Offlcea In New York, Chi
cago Detroit, San Francisco, Lot
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NATION A L t 0 1 T 0 ft I A L
ASC(rATION
IJJLUJ
-35r
Righto' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the flies of The
Mall Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
nd 50 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Oct. 25, 1952 (Saturday)
The weather bureau report
ed the first freezing tempera
ture of the fall at its station
at the Medford municipal air
port this morning.
Gerald T. Macomber appar
ently will survive his bullet
wounds to be returned to the
Oregon State prison, it ap
peared this morning.
20 YEARS AGO
Oct. 25, 1942 (Sunday)
Bids for remodeling of old
Gates Aulo company building
at Sixth St. and Riverside ave.;
structure to be used for new
USO headquarters.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "A re
port from Rome via Berne
says II Duce Mussolini is
'mentally dazed.' This is what
ailed him all the time."
30 YEARS AGO
Oct. 25, 1932 (Tuesday)
"Committee of 7,000" starts
campaign for write-in votes
to reelect Rnlph Jennings as
county sheriff.
Eugene Thorndyke elected
to fill vacancy on Medford
school board.
40 YEARS AGO
Oct. 25, 1922 (Wednesday)
Earl C. Gaddis, Business
Men's Party candidate for
mayor of Medford, announces
platform based on keeping
taxes down and city credit
up.
Medford High school foot
ball team defeated 20 to 14
by Oregon Slate College
Rooks in game at Corvallis
for first loss of season.
50 YEARS AGO
Oct. 25. 1912 (Friday)
Jackson county registered
voters total B.477; Medford's
nine precincts have 2,403 reg
lslcrcd. S. A. Paltisiin, founder of
Central .Point Herald and for
mer president of Jackson
County Press association,
leaves Rogue valley to pur
chase farm in Washington.
Whal's Your I.Q.?
Nina ot tan cornet Is superior;
saen er tight Is eicellenti tlx at
sis Is toed.
1, Dors arid refer to dry
ness, acidity, or bitterness?
i. Helsinki is the captlal of
which country?
3. Lard is a product of what
animal?
4. What la the singular of
axes?
5. Names the smallest
planet,
6. At which "Mount" were
the Ten Commandments In
troduced? 7. Does New York, Texas,
Illinois or California have the
most miles of Improved roads?
8. Only three states In the
Union have four letters in
' their names; can you name
them?
9. The Congress recently
passed a law requiring that
women be paid the same as
men for equal work; true or
false?
10. Does moss thrive In well
drained, or In damp soil?
Answerst I, Dryness. 2. Fin
land. 3. The hog. 4. Axe or
axis. 5. Marcury. 6. Mount
Sinai, 7. Texas S. Iowa, Ohio,
Utah. 9. Falsa. 10. In damp
sell.
4 A -
-jj NIW$PAPI
jjSjj- ASSOCIATION
NICE GRANDMOTHER
Barrow, England (UFD -Mrs.
Olive Woodburn was
charged Wednesday with
training Linda Fry to be a
shoplifter. Mrs. Woodburn, 84,
Is the grandmother of Linda,
12.
1
OCTOBER 25. 1962
For County Offices
There are five county offices at stake at the
Nov. 6 general election assessor, clerk, com
missioner, county judge, and sheriff.
Assessor is a largely technical position, and
logically would be an appointive, rather than an
elective, office. However, since it remains elec
tive under our system, we should elect a man
principally on the basis of his qualifications.
The assessor and his staff are charged with
the valuation of property for tax purposes, and
preparing the levies for collection by the sheriff.
The incumbent by appointment, Thad Hatten, is
both competent and experienced. We see no
need for a change, and recommend his election.
e
THE county clerk is the county's record-keeper
and chief election officer. This too is largely
a technical and administrative operation, not a
policy-setting one. Most of the actual work in
the office is done by experienced deputies, and
in lai'fze measure, therefore, the county clerk is
chiefly engaged in personnel administration and
supervision.
Efficiency and courtesy to the public are the
principal qualifications for office.
The candidates are Mrs. Bereth Hopkins, who
previously has served in the office, the Republi
can, and E. M. Madden, the incumbent, a Demo
crat. "THE office was operated smoothly during the
incumbency of each. Mrs. Hopkins claims she
can operate the .office more economically than
Madden has done, and
her contention. Madden has stated his principal
aim is to attract and retain erood staff people, and
to operate a courteous office which is a subtle
iab at Mrs. Honkins who has in the past irritated
some constituents by her forthright manner of
speaking.
Both candidates have, in the past, been active
in partisan politics, each in his or her own party,
and while this is, of course, their right, it does
little to recommend them to serve in what is, in
fact if not in practice, a non-partisan public ser
vice office.
This race, to us, is almost a toss-up. We be
lieve the people will be
which one wins. Uur
job, however, is Mrs. Hopkins.
THE county commissioner's post, being vacated
Vtir P.rtootoi- "Wonrlt ia rtnrttootorl hptwppn Don
Faber, Republican, former mayor of Central
Point, and Larry Sheehan, Democrat, mayor of
Rogue River.
The office is an important one, and, if per
formed conscientiously
consumintr one.
Sheehan has a more winning personality than
does Fabef, who can be somewhat overbearing at
times. But on the basis of a broader experience
in county and citv trovernment. as well as in busi
ness and teaching, we plan to cast our vote for
Don Faber.
pOUNTY JUDGE EARL MILLER, Republican
seeking reelection, was a good mayor of Med
ford. We have been considerably less impressed
with the job he has done as county judge.
He is an honest man, we are convinced, and
a sincere man. But he seems to have the dog
gonedest time making up his mind. As a result
he gives the impression of vacillating, of post
poning decisions, of passing the buck for decision-making
to committees or public hearings.
Despite these tendencies we plan to cast our
vote for him, instead of for Ralph James, former
Democratic county commissioner running for
county judge.
Both men are thoroughly decent individuals,
and our preference for Miller is based on our
belief that he can do a better job than James
in a job that is part executive, part legislative,
part administrative and part public relations.
We would be more enthusiastic in our endorse
ment if we knew that reelection would give Miller
the confidence he needs to make decisions and
stick with them, and to exert the qualities of pro
gressive leadership now so sadly lacking in the
county court.
"THE final county office
is sheriff. This is not a policy-making post,
but it is an important one, including not only law
enforcement, but also jail administration, tax
collection and civil process administration. The
office employs some 30 persons.
The two candidates are "Do" A. Leigh, Re
publican, and Birle E. Stephens, Democrat.
Stephens is a private investigator, formerly
a city police officer. Leigh has served as deputy
sheriff, and also has had considerable business
experience.
In our view, Leigh has far superior qualifica
tions, in experience and in personality, and in
his attitude toward the job. we strongly suggest
a vote for "De" Leigh for sheriff. 4'',. A.
Judges Unopposed
Supreme Court Chief Justice William M. Mc
Allister, Supreme Court candidate Arno H. Den
ecke, Oregon Tax Court Judge Peter Gunnar, and
District Judge L. L. Sawyer all appear on the
Nov. (5 ballot unopposed in the non-partisan
judgeship election, each having won undisputed
nomination in the primary election. Their elec
tion is a foregone conclusion, but a complimen
tary vote of confidence in each is indicated.
McAllister, Gunnar and Sawyer have served
well in their present positions, and Denecke es
tablished a fine reputation as a circuit court
judge. E. A.
cites figures to support
well served no matter
personal choice ior tne
and effectively, a time-
on next month's ballot
MEDFORD
Vote For One
COMMUNICATIONS
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address ot tha wrltor,
although under certain circumstances the usa of a pen name or Initial
for publication is permissible. Tha Mail Tribune reserves tha right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation. Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. Tha letters
p Inted In this column do not necessarily represent the views of tha
paper; In fact tha contrary Is often tha case.
For Repeal
To the Editor, and the tax
payers of Southern Oregon:
If some one asked you to trade
your right to vote for the
right to petition to vote, what
would your answer be? This
is exactly what those who are
opposing repeal of the School
District Reorganization Law
are asking Oregon voters to
do.
Turn to page 50 In your
Voter's Pamphlet y and you
will quickly grasp why this
law must be repealed. Please
note that the people voted it
down once, but that a few
years later our legislature
over-ruled our vote and forced
this law upon us. Also notice
that the basic school fund has
already been raided to the
tune of nearly half a million
dollars by the state to finance
its program of enforcement of
this very unpopular law.
Please study the facts about
the repeal law - that It will
stop forced reorganization, but
will not repeal voluntary con
solidation laws - that it will
return control of school dis
tricts to the local people - that
it will return your right to
vote on any consolidation In
volving your district - that
repeal will give you, the local
people, the right to decide
just how big your district will
be, and just where your chil
dren shall go to school - and
that it will get the State's
hands out of your pocket-book
by stopping the yearly appro
priation of $70,000 from our
tax money to enforce the law
we want repealed.
Then please study the facts
about the present reorganiza
tion law until you clearly un
derstand that It Is compulsory,
and takes local control of the
schools away from the people,
with an un-Americin central
ization of power In the hands
of the State Board of Educa
tion which is not elected, but
appointed.
Fellow taxpayers, if we
don't want complete slate con
trol of our children, our
schools, and our school lax
dollars, we'd belter get on
the ball and get everyhody we
know out to the polls this elec
tion to vole YF.S for repeal of
our present School District
Reorganization law.
Hope Getchell
778 N. W. Third st.
Grants Pass, Ore.
Outstanding Legislator
To the Editor: In regard to
your recommendations for
state representatives in Tues
day night's paper, I think
that It should be pointed out
that John Dellenback was se
lected as the outstanding
freshman legislator by a se
cret poll of the press who at
tendrd Ihe legislative sessions
in Salem. This nrctirred In a
predominantly Democratic
legislature.
In view of his rerord and
ability, I don't see how the
people of Jackson county can
overtook the qualifications of
John Dellenback when they
cast Iheir vote.
Mrs John Collins
Dellwood ave.
Medford
Support No. 9
To the Kdttor: At our hoard
meeting of Oct. IB. 1R2, the
Portland Junior Chamber of
Commerce unanimously de
cided to favor Ballot Measure
(Legislative Reapportion
ment). Our position is hased main
ly on the following four
points-
1) There is no major dis
parity between the existing
plan and Ballot Measure 9
regarding the equality of rep
resentation. Knur per rent is
the maximum percentage dif
ference involved.
21 The existing plan has
hren Interpreled by the court
in such a manner that major
fractions are ignored. Our or
ganization believes that the
MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD.
concept of major fractions Is
essential to fair representa
tion, and Ballot Measure 9 re
stores this concept.
3) The existing plan allows
for any combination of coun
ties to form legislative dis
tricts. We feel that this can
be grossly unfair due to the
fact that an extremely large
county can be combined with
an extremely small county,
thereby creating a situation
where the numerical repre
sentation seems fair but in
reality is not, due to the fact
that the smaller of the coun
ties loses its right to elect
legislaio-s.
4) What we consider to be
the overwhelming factor in
our decision is the fact that
the existing plan allows any
type of gerrymandering. Our
principles force us to oppose
the existing plan for this rea
son if no other. Ballot Meas
ure 9 remedies the situation
through its system of perma
nent Legislative districts in
the House and equality of
counties in the Senate.
We know that neither plan
is perfect, but for these four
reasons the Portland Junior
Chamber of Commerce sin
cerely hopes that you will
join with us in striving to
wards a fairer system of rep
resentation by using the at
tached report as well as oth
ers as a basis for your sup
port of Ballot Measure 9 on
Reapportionment.
Portland Junior
Chamber of Commerce,
Charles R. McClellan II,
President,
Strictly
Personal
By Sydney J. Harris
(o- field Enterprises Ine.
PERSONAL PREJUDICES
Most people use charity
not as an enhancement of
justice, but as a substitute
for it; they are willing to
help the afflicted and Ihe un
fortunate after the event, but
remain supremely indifferent
to the causes of suffering and
the prompt taking of preven
tive measures.
Pious people Invariably
assume that God hat no
lanse of humor whan all
one has to do is to regard
the panda, the lobster, the
kangaroo and the opeatic
tenor to see the sense of
comedy Involved in His
creation.
The men who crack most
easily are those who are
atraid to expose what they
ronslder n "wenknes-s" - who
feel they must always seem
strong and decisive and self
assured, even when the oc
casion calls for doubt and de
liberation. To be really
strong means having the
surplus strength to admit a
weakness - just as the truly
brave men frankly confronts
bis fear.
A person who insists that
ha listens "to both aides of
tha question" fails to add
that he listens to each side
In a quite different man
ner: with his ears critically
cocked to tha side ha lands
against, and with hit ears
flopping plaasurably to tha
aide he land to favor.
Everybody is against sel
fishness - usually for the
most selfish reasons.
Returning each fall from
vacation in a tiny village.
I am each year more in
clined to agree with Kin
Hubbard a sly remark that
"There Isn't much to ba
seen In a little town, but
what you hear makes up
for it."
One of the1 most curious
and unexplained phenomena
is the fact that If you hear
OREGON
Cuban Living Standard, Once High for
Latin America, Now at Subsistence Level
By PHIL NEWSOM
UPI Foreign News Analyst
President Kennedy has
made a point of the fact that
the U.S. "quarantine" of
Cuba will not
cut off the
necessities of
life, as the
Soviets at
tempted to do
In their 1948
Berlin block
ade. In actual
fact, inept
C o m m u nist
lea d e r sh Ip
and resistance of the workers
already have placed the Cu
ban people at close to the
subsistance level.
All staple goods and most
household commodities are ra
tioned. A government decree In
March permitted each person
three-quarters oi a pound of
meat and one and a half
pounds of beans per week,
and six pounds of rice and one
cake of soap per month.
The government has been
forced to parade tanks, troops
and artillery to counter dem
onstrations against food scarc
ities In a country which once
had one of the highest living
Today & Tomorrow
By Walter lippmann
(o) New York Herald Tribuna Syndicate
CRISIS AND THIS
ELECTION
This article Is written be
fore any official statement
about the latest developments
In Cuba. But
it is written in
the know
ledge that the
situation has
very suddenly
become acute
and critical.
Whatever the
President de
cides to do, it
Is unfortunate
Lippmann
that it has to be done at the
height of an election cam
paign, and particularly of this
one. For this campaign has
been singularly sterile as a
preparation of the American
electorate to understand the
grave problems in which they
are profoundly involved. That
ought not to be the case. We
ought to be an educated and
informed democracy.
The voters are being talked
to by the President and the
ex-President, by the two lead
ers who for the ten years
since the Korean war have
had the highest responsibility
and who have had access to
the most intitmate knowledge
of the facts. Yet neither of
them, I submit, has ever tried
to explain to the people the
dimensions of the Cuban
problem and of the Berlin
problem.
The education of the peo
ple, which must be the foun
dation of policy, has been left
to politicians outside the Ad
ministration and to editors, re
porters, and commentators, all
of us unauthorized and only
partially and intermittently
informed. The two national
leaders have refrained from
candid and free exposition of
the issues and they have, in
fact, talked down to the vot
ers as if truth were too strong
a meat for Americans to di
gest. jUEITHER General El sen-
' hower nor President "Cen
nedy has come near to deal
ing with the central reality
which has dominated their
two Administrations. This
reality is the decisive change
In the military and financial
position of the United States
a new word for the first time,
you are bound to hear it
again in a day or two; like
wise, if the name of a person,
or rare disease, comes up in
conversation or in print, you
will run across the name
again soon.
The man who mutters
that "90 per cant of mod
ern art it trash" forgets
that 90 par cant of old art
was trash, too. but time
has winnowed out tha bulk
of It Indeed. It might
justly he said that 90 per
cent of all art whether
painting, writing, or mu
sic) is trash and eventually
forqottan.
Worries cannot be willed
away by consciously refusing
to acknowledge them - they
must be pulled up by the
roots and examined In the
light, not pushed down
deeper into the unconscious,
where they only do darker
mischief by disguising them
selves in some bizarre man
ner. As the striking power of
both sides Increases In this
cold war, II becomes more
likely that the war will
turn hoti for. as tha British
physicist and Nobel Prise
winner. P. M. S. Blackatt,
has observed.' "Once a na
tion pledges lit safety to
an absolute weapon, it be
comes emotionally essential
to believe In an absolute
enemy."
Ml mm aasiausn
standards in Latin America.
As shortages have mounted
so has absenteeism. Earnings
mean little if there was noth
ing to buy.
The Soviet Union has prom
ised $457 million in credits
to Cuba, of which about $45
million has been disbursed.
The money spent thus far had
no visible effect.
One of the top Communists,
Bias Roca, wrote in the party
newspaper Hoy:
"If we do not Increase our
production, there ia no possi
ble defense . . . because peo
ple who are dead of hunger
cannot carry out the defense."
Noted the Swiss Review of
World Affairs:
"Because of Cuba's utter
dependence on the East bloc
today, it now faces the ques
tion whether and to what ex
tent its Communist trade part
ners will be willing and able
to supply it with the raw ma
terials, consumer goods and,
above all, the food it cannot
produce itself but must have
to escape economic chaos. . .
"Havana's stores are now
stocked with the cheapest and
most useless products of East
em origin; poorly printed
Communist pamphlets from
since the middle of the 1950's.
It was under President Eis
enhower through no fault
of his own that the United
States' nuclear monopoly
came to an end. This develop
ment is reshaping the whole
complex of power politics
throughout the world. It was
under President Eisenhower
again through no fault of
his own that the United
States ceased to be an inex
haustible creditor country
and became increasingly un
able, therefore, to call the
tune and pay the piper.
Moreover, It was under
General Eisenhower in the
main because of his personal
convictions about economic
theory that the American
economy was throttled down
to a rate of expansion which
is just about the lowest hi the
capitalistic world.
These three developments
are having enormous conse
quences. But General Eisen
hower does not mention them
in his speeches, and he talks
as if nothing that we need be
concerned about had happen
ed while he was in the White
House.
a
EXCEPT FOR veiled phras
" es to informed insiders,
President Kennedy presum
ably in order to avoid a de
bate with General Eisenhow
er barely mentions, and nev
er dwells upon, the realities
of the changed world which
he came upon in 1961. Mr.
Kennedy has talked a little
about economic growth. He
has been much preoccupied
with the position of the dol
lar. He has rightly and effec
tively built up our military
power.
But he has never fully ex
plained to the people how the
joss of nuclear monopoly,
even though we are still much
the stronger military power,
is affecting the whole world
wide commitments which
were proclaimed by President
Truman and formalized by
Secretary Dulles.
For example: When we
still possessed a nuclea.' mo
nopoly, we were an irresisti
ble power in the sense that
we could destroy without be
ing hurt. Then it was possible
to encircle the Soviet Union
with military bases usable for
offensive action. But when
the nuclear monopoly came
to an end, then the encircling
nations like Turkey, and then
Paris and London and Ronn,
and finally the United Stales
itself, became vulnerable.
Then the advance bases be
gan to become liabilities.
rrHUS Turkey is a great lis
bility in our relations with
Cuba. For if we use force to
Invade or blockade Cuba, we
must be prepared for some
thing similar around or In
Turkey or some such place
on the frontiers of the Soviet
Union. These advance bas-s
of ours, which are nearly ob
solescent with the big bomb
ers and the missiles, are more
hostage than ally. If Mr.
Khrushchev wants to defend
Castro, he does not have to
do it in Cuba where the So
viet Union is a negligible mili
tary power. He can do it in
Turkey or Iran or elsewhere
on the perimeter.
These things need to be un
derstood by our people as we
find ourselves in a military
crisis over Cuba. Until our
people do understand them,
they will he thinking and
feeling and voting in a world
that no longer exists. In the
world that now exists the
United States is not omnipo
tent. It cannot, therefore, en
force the Monroe Doctrine in
the Western hemisphere and
the Truman Doctrine in the
Eastern hemisphere.
Moscow, ceramics and arti
ficial flowers from China, low
quality household goods made
in East Germany and Czech
oslovakia. . .
"Despite the great scarcity
of meat the people refused to
buy the East European canned
meat offered for sale; a ship
load of Chinese geese and tur
Matter of Fact sy jo.ePh ai.op
(e Naw York Herald Tribune Syndicate
THE STRONGEST
ARGUMENT
Washington The strong
est argument for the grim de
cision the President announc
ed on Monday
was not any of
those which
are now being
most widely
repeated.
The problem
of Castro was
pressing, o f
course. It was
utterly unac
ceptable, of
Alsnp
course, for
Soviet offensive
missiles to be emplaced in
Cuba.
But this kind of Soviet use
of Fidel Castro, and the re
sulting gain in Soviet nuclear
striking power, were not the
true essence of the problem.
As the President more than
hinted in his remarkable
speech to the nation, the true
essence of the problem was
the American posture vis-a-vis
the Soviet Union.
The President long argued,
as reported in this space, that
the painful irritant in Cuba
has to be subordinated to the
grave and present danger at
Berlin. But this argument lost
its validity on Tuesday morn
ing a week ago when the
President, while still in bed,
received the news thab Soviet
medium and intermediate
range ballistic missiles were
being hastily emplaced on
Cuban soil.
AT THAT moment, the Cu
ban problem and the Berlin
problem merged together, into
a single problem. The reason
for this sudden merger, as you
think about the circum
stances, was very simple, In
deed. In his Cuban press confer
ence in September, the Presi
dent said that the Soviet mili
tary effort in Cuba required
no American action, so long as
the purpose was plainly de
fensive. But almost in the
same breath, he added that
American action would have
to be considered if the Cuban
build-up assumed an offensive
character.
The significance of this
slatement was well under
stood by the Kremlin, as in-
Candidates Night
Slated in Ashland
Ashland - Gerald J. Scan
nell, Ashland attorney, has
announced that a group of
Ashland Democrats will spon
sor a candidates night at the
Mark Antony hotel in Ash
land, Saturday, Oct. 27, be
tween 8 and 10 p m.
Scannell said Ashland city
candidates also are invited.
Bob Duncan, Democratic
candidate for Congress from
the fourth district, will be
featured, Scannell said, and
will be given the opportunity
to make remarks before the
group.
Coffee and refreshments
will be served, and the public
will be given the opportunity
of meeting all state, county
and local candidates.
Scannell commented lhat
almost all local, slate, district
and county candidates had ac
cepted Ihe invitation. He urg
ed Ashland residents to at
tend and meet the candidates
pointing nut that election day
is leso than two weeks away.
"Is he a Democrat, i Republican, in ultra-Liberal er in
ultra-Conservative . , .?''
keys last fall finally had to be
used to feed the men taken
prisoner in the invasion of
April 1981, because this kind
of poultry Is an unfamiliajr
food to most Cubans. . .
"Moscow clearly considered
the Castro regime's consolida
tion of military power mora
important than Cuba's eco
nomic reconstruction."
dicated by the facts summar
ized by the President on Mon
day. The official Soviet press
hastened to answer the Pres
ident with reassuring state
ments that the aim of So
viet "aid" to Cuba was pure
ly to increase Cuba's defen
sive strength. -Thereafter,
the Soviet Am
bassador in Washington, Anar
toly Dobrynin, repeatedly
swore to leading personages
in the U.S. government that
ballistic missiles would nev
er be emplaced in Cuba. With
smooth perfidy, Soviet For
eign Minister Andrei Gromy-
ko gave the President the
same assurance when the com
trary evidence was already
in the President's hand.
ALL the while, quite nat
urally, the Kremlin was
well aware that American,
U-2s and other Instruments of
surveillance would inevitably
reveal the true state of affairs
to the U.S. government, as
soon as the ballistic missiles
began to be emplaced on their
Cuban sites. Hence passive ac
ceptance of the accomplished,
fact that the Kremlin was
seeking to create in Cuba
would have transformed the
President's September warn
ing into the weakest and emp
tiest sort of bluff.
Precisely because of tha
grave danger at Berlin, and
for many other reasons as
well, the United States and
its President cannot afford
to be regarded by the Krem
lin as braggarts and bluffers.
President Kennedy has pur
sued a policy of careful mod
eration so careful, indeed,
that it was provoking parti
san attack before his speech
to the nation on Monday. But
he has not bluffed.
There were half a score of
other reasons why the new
development in Cuba could
not be tolerated. But it could
not be tolerated, above all,
because flabby toleration of
this arrogant defiance of the
President's September warn
ing would have automatically
devalued to zero-minus all his
past warnings tn the Soviets
about Berlin and every other
world problem.
A PASSIVE response to this
new challenge would in
fact have invited an immedi
ate Soviet attack on Berlin's
freedom, and the kind ef
naked, carelessly defiant So
viet attack, moreover, that
would leave no alternative
except retaliation with H
bombs on the Soviet Union. .
The English New States
man and Nation one argued
that Ihe Korean war was all
our fault, because our prior
disarmament had in effect as
sured the Soviets that they
could launch an aggression
in Korea with impunity. In
a twisted sort of way there)
was more validity in this ar
gument than in most New
Statesman arguments.
The argument's application
in the present case, to Berlin
as well as to all Ihe other
places the Soviets would liku
to have a crack at, is only
too clear and apparent. Henca
the stand has been taken. Tha
brave and necessary thing has
been done. '
What riposte may follow,
none can say at this writing.
But all must give thanks that
the challenge was not shirked,
and all' must pray, too, thai
the Kremlin at last clearly un
derstands the American deter
mination not to falter or sub
mit, which the acceptance of
the challenge so plainly implies.