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WEDNESDAY. JUNE 12, IMS
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD. OREGON
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Publishers Aesocleuon
Flight o' Time
Madford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and SO veers ego.
10 YEARS AGO
Juno (3. 1153 (Saturday)
Elaht Jackson county flu
dents will receive degrees to
morrow st SUnford univer
sity's 62nd commencement ex
ercises In Pslo Alto, Calif.
Five Jackson county resi
dents were Injured in a traf
fic accident at Bybee corner
on the Jacksonville highway
this morning In two-car
collision,
20 YEARS AGO
June 13. IMS (Sunday)
Trial juries selected to
hunr condemnation cam in
' volvlng land on Camp White
military reservation.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "Ru-
mors are rife (one of their
favorite habits) about enemy
submarines snooping sround
Coos Bay. Nobody around
here aj yet has taken his fish-
ing pole on an essential wsr
business trip to the cosst and
accidentally knocked off I
periscope with sn oar."
30 YEARS AGO
June 13, 1333 (Tuesday)
Aviator snd plsne missing
In Cow Creek csnyon coun
try on flight from Medford
airport.
Rogue river high as warm
weather starts rapid runoff of
mountain snow.
The President s Appeal
As recently as Monday, President Kennedy
was being criticized for not speaking out on civil
rights as a moral issue, for not exerting his vast
influence and leadership potential in bringing
home to the American people the dimensions of
the current racial crisis.
James Reston of the New York Times wrote :
There is something wrong with his (the Presi
dent's) leadership on the home front. Something is
mining in his speeches, his press conferences, his trips
snd his timing. He is not communicating his con
victions effectively . . .
"The President's appeal, somehow, is to the mind
of the nation and not to its heart. He definei the
problems of rsce, unemployment and education, but
doesn't come to grips with them ...
"There is something too cool about it all. He gives
the country statistics about the Negro . . . but he
doesn't convey the humiliation or the ache in the
heart . . .
"... Ail will listen if he csrries his civil rights
bsttle into the South or the rscial Jungles of Northern
cities. But he has done none of these things ..."
LIE HAS now.
His special television broadcast of Tuesday
evening was a magnificent performance, appeal-
to heart as well as head.
He talked sense decent, moral, courageous
sense to the American people.
Coming as it did shortly after the disgraceful
Wallace episode at Tuscaloosa, and just before
the revolting murder of a Negro leader, it car
ried with it a special impact one which we are
certain will bring strong and positive response
from the nation.
Reston also said, "This is a just and decent
country. It may be confused ... but on human
questions ... the vast majority is obviously for
equality."
The President has asked our help. The" least
we can do is answer him with clear heads and
whole hearts. E.A.
Let the People Decide
Four persons, one a younp- woman, are now
in the Oregon State Penitentiary waiting to die
in the gas chamber.
The voters of Oregon in November, 1964,
will decide whether to abolish the death penalty.
The last time they voted on the question, in
November, 1958, capital punishment was re
tained but the margin was tiny : only 12,053
votes of more than 540,000 cast.
There is good reason to believe that the out
come will be reversed next year.
"You know, sometimes we get so involved in saving
the world, we tend to forget why it's worth ssvingl"
Communications
Letters to tha Editor must bear tha name and address of tha 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 a view to clarification and condensation. ' Letter
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of tS
paper. In fact the contrary Is often the case.
Regretabie
To the Editor: Thank you
for publishing my letter on
7-4-63, which you captioned
"Death Is a Fact."
However, I do not thank
you for the way you edited
away some very Important
passages, which not only dam
aged the structure, but
changed some of the signifi
cance. I am sorry if the letter
was a little long, but I ob
served a letter in the same
issue by your most well
known contributor that was
quite a lot longer, which dealt
with the race question, wmcn
is certainly not more important.
Were It possible, I would
add but one thing: The man
whom the priestly chroniclers
have described as Jesus was
according to indications not
only not physically robust,
but sensitive as an artist and
possessed of the powers of
one. and in QOKMzance 01
mysteries of the Eart and of
Egypt of which wa can- f.r.ru-
ly be aware, even as was
Moses who founded the Jew
ish faith, and as were the
40 YEARS AGO
June 13, 1123 (Wednesday)
- Ben Trowbridge and Allen
Perry return from De Molay
convention in Portland,
Tourists to be limited to
three days in free Medford
city auto court.
50 YEARS AGO
June 13, 1113 (Friday)
Central Point woman In
jured when her horse runs
away after being frightened
by two racing autos.
Will G. Steel, newly ap
pointed superintendent ot
Crater Lake National park,
tells plans for construction oi
four-foot trail from rim to
lake.
THIS combination of circumstances presents
Gov. Mark 0. Hatfield with an opportunity.
Personally, by conviction, the Governor isL,.n ' nri hiiH..r of the
opposed to capital punishment. At the same Tomb of Kufu, or Great pyra
time, he has said he will let the "law take its mid, which was worshipped as
. . I nnni. n n. ilia "Immftrtnl" rP.
nutaa" in tha ahaanrta nT ronaal 1 w '
But the Constitution specif icially gives him
the power to grant reprieves. He could postpone
the four executions unuJ after the November,
1964, election. At that tune the people will make
their decisions. I he Governor s decision then
could be made on the basis of the people's will.
T'HEREj would be every justification in the
world for the Governor to do just his.
He would not only be within his legal rights,
but he would be on the very soundest moral and
ethical grounds. He would obey the Constitution
al injunction that the penal laws should be based
on the principles of rehabilitation.
He would, in the finest sense, "allow the law
to take its course."
And he would remove from his own con
science the inescapable feeling of guilt for the
death of four human beings when the will of the
neonle is not fullv known.
This is the course of decency, of justice and
of democracy.
We urge him, in the strongest possible terms,
to follow this course. None could gainsay him ;
lew couia criticize. tu.A.
Too Youthful Marriage
banning books from the li
brary. If the only books avail
able in a library are those
which are "safe" for children
to read, most of us adults
wouldn't spend any time read
ing. I enjoyed "Little Women"
when I was ten years old, but
as a steady diet - no, thank
you! Shall we give up one of
our hard-won freedoms?
Of what value is freedom of
the press if a small group of
people can decide who may
read what?
The book collection in a li
brary is planned to serve the
needs of as many people as
possible, taking into consider
ation literary values and the
funds available. We cannot
expect all' the books there to
please everyone any more
than that all music and art
have a universal appeal.
It is the responsibility of
parents and teachers to de
velop in children an apprecia
tion of the more worthwhile
music, art and literature.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawson
Scott Jr.
Route 3, Box 240-C
Madford.
What's Your I.Q.?
Nine Of tan correal Is luearieri
seven at elM h eicelleatj five at
sli Is aeod.
1. Does tha United States
produce 23, SO, or 75 per cent
of the world s sulpher?
2. Four states border on
Lake Erie; name them.
3. What travels approxi
mately 186.000 miles per sec
ond? 4. The accurate time-keeping
device used in navigation
on board ships Is called a
c ?
5. What well-known song
about Kentucky was compos
ed by Stephen C. Foster?
6. Does falling barometric
pressure indicate the ap
proach of stormy or fair
weather?
7. Name the woman who
was executed for complicity
In the plot to assassinate Lin
coln. 5. What is the world's larg
est desert?
S. Was the Hebrew prophet
Daniel ual Into the fiery
furnace?
10. Is gold weighed by the
avoirdupois or troy scale?
Answers! 1. 73 per cent.
1. Ohio. Pennsylvania. Michi
gan. New York. 3. Light.
4. Chronometer. 5. "My Old
Kentucky Home." f. Stormy.
7. Mrs. Mary Surratt. I. Sa
hara. . Ne (lie as' den).
10. Troy. ,
immortal" re
mains of the "divine phar
aoh": and let It be remem
bered the Egyptians, not the
Hebrews, were the originators
of the concept of life after
death, as determined by con
science and standards of right
and wrong, during a last Judg
ment. This idea was incor
porated Into the Jewish re
ligion during Its evolution,
along with their geneology
(called the "patriarchs") and
the legends and myths origi
nating in common with those
of most ancient Sumer and
Akkadia on the Persian Gulf
man's earliest known civili
zation.
I repeat, I am not happy
with the way my letter was
published, as it may thusly In
fluence some people In ways
I did not intend; I must there
fore renounce responsibility
for it. If It is apropos, it is
regretabie if some of us may
not fully express our views
on some subjects because,
though said to be free, the
presses are only free to the
owners.
Ralph D. McKinnis
P.O. Box 321
Ashland, Ore.
The Mav issue of the Orecon fitntp Tinarri nf
Health Bulletin reveals that more than half of
the first-time brides being married in Oregon in
19G2 were under 20 years of age.
Circuit Judge Jean Lewis of the Multnomah
County Department of Domestic Relations, in
commenting on this startling statistic, indicates
that one of the prime factors in divorce is the
too-young marriage. She noted :
"I note that of 8)3 wives under the age of 25
seeking a divorce, 613 were married as teenagers.
In other words, 72 per cent of the wives seeking
divorce wer married as teenagers and divorced
within ten years . . .
"Out of a total ot 6.000 divorces and annulments
In this state during . . . 1962, over 2.000 marriages
ended in divorce within five years of marriage and
another 3,341 occurred within the first ten years ..."
"One cannot help but wonder whether persons
entering marriage are prepared to accept the respon
sibilities and duties of marriage as well as the pleas
ures. Too many people enter marriage with the atti
tude, 'Let's try it. If it doesn't work out, we can
always get a divorce'."
TTHERE are two strikes against a couple which
mniTipa too vonntr.
They must ace the problems of completing
an education, getting a iob, finding a place to
live, trying to make ends meet, and, in many
cases, adjusting to the care of small children
a responsibility too few are ready for.
The glamor of "being in love," the powerful
attraction of sex, the spirit of adventure all
these combine to cause the too-young marriage.
But the gloomy statistics will deter all too
few from marriages which have a less-than-even
chance of being a success. E.A.
Recovery, Inc.
To the Editor: I first learn
ed about an organization call
ed Recovery Inc., in the health
column of your newspaper.
Every community in the world
has people in desperate need
of such help. I have never
heard of one here. Won't
some qualified person please
start one here? I personally
know a number ot persons
who need this help very badly
and are searching vainly for
help.
For those who missed rend
ing tilts column, Recovery Inc.
consists of a group of persons
having recovered from all
manner of mental distress.
meeting with persons present'
ly in distress and aiding them
to recover. In practice it has
been found most effective and
resembles Alcoholics Anony
mous In theory and success
Information may be obtained
from a central office at 116
South Michigan Ave., Clnca
go. 111., addressed to Recovery
lnci There must be many here
who could start this organua
tion and many others glad to
help In it.
(Name on file)
Medford.
Mathematical Approach
To the Editor: Referring to
your "twister" of June 10, I
presume the answer which
you would accept as correct
is 3'i inches. This is the
needle travel along a straight
path of swing. However, un
less this path of swing is
truly straight and further
more Is along a radius from
the center of the turntable -
as Is practically never the
case - the travel will be
greater than 3 V Inches. How
much greater will depend
largely on the curvature of
the arc along which the pick
up - and needle - swings as
the pickup arm pivots on its
mounting.
Many readers will doubt
less jump to the conclusion
that the problem is to calcu
late how far the needle
travels In the record grooves.
Unless they are versed In
calculus they are unlikely to
arrive at anything better
than an approximation to
this.
If one assumes that the
path ot swing is along a ra
dius from the center of the
turntable, the exact length of
travel In the grooves may be
found by using the equation
for an Archimedes spiral.
This leads to fairly simple
definite Integral which is not
difficult to evaluate for thoe
who have the requisite math
ematlcal background.
Almus Pruitt
1007 South Holly st.
Medford.
Books and Freedom
To the Editor: Your edito
rial in Friday's paper, "We
Must Make a Choice," Is the
best discussion of the explo
sive racial problem that we
have read recently. We stand
up to be counted with you on
the side ot justice.
We also agree with you on
Peru's President-Elect Has Plans for
Large-Scale Alterations and Progress
..a t t. . .!. ha-t I in take office ev
LfcsJ
By PHIL NEWSOM
UPI Foreign News Analyst
Fernando Belaunde Terry is
a handsome, darkly intent
man who as an architect also
has large-scale
plans for a!
t e r 1 n g the
map of Peru
Now, as Pe
ru's newly
elected next
president, he
may have a
chance for at
least a start
WKm on putting
those plans into effect. His
dream is of a "forest edge"
road which would open up
the untapped resources of
eastern Peru, and benefit
Columbia, Ecuador and Bo
livia as well.
He explained those plans to
this correspondent a few
weeks ago, spreading maps on
the floor of a pleasant room
off a sun-filled patio of his
home at the edge of Lima. On
the walls of the room were
mementos of his travels by
horseback and canoe along
the eastern edges of the Andes
which divide Peru into coast,
high sierra and jungle.
The road Belaunde foresees
would run 3,000 miles along
trails which, in Peru, Be
launde himself has travelled.
life, you must work for, and
once you get it - keep it. It
isn't hard work to shake a
hand, to be a good listener,
to show interest in things
around you and to help
where possible. When trou
ble comes - as it will - keep
your chin up and I don't
mean 'stick your necK out.
Bones come with the meat,
storms with the sunshine,
and death 'midst the living -but
God won't shoulder you
with a load you can't handle.
Keeping one's mouth closed
will help - and everything
comes to an end - just as heat
gets cooler and chill gets
wftrmer. If you are friendly
you'll find friendly faces all
around you and you'll all
help each other. That's
art of living.
Pearl Spackman
Jacksonville, Ore.
the
Magazines for People
To the Editor: Americans
discard about 30 million mag
azines a week and millions of
people throughout the world
hunger for these magazines
not available in their country.
For example: In Indonesia,
all periodicals from the Unit
ed States are bought up by
Soviet agents the moment
they appear for sale. Also,
government edict makes it il-
legal to have "Life" and
"Time" in one's possession.
Thousands of Americans are
sending used magazines to
persons in India, Indonesia,
East Pakistan, South Americ.i,
etc. Many more are needed.
Your readers may join in
this enriching "people-to-people"
program by sending a
self-addressed, stamped enve
lope to me at the address be
low. A personal letter from
a person abroad requesting
magazines will be sent by re
turn mail. There is no charge
of any kind, ever, for this
service.
Requests for used maga
zines come from professors,
teachers, students, profession
al and businessmen, house
wives and secretaries.
If the reader will send a
brief outline of their Interests,
hobbies, vocation, age, etc.,
we can usually place them in
touch with persons of like in
terests. Gene Stewart
915 Arnold Way
Menlo Park, Calif.
He estimates its total cost
at $216 million, with Perus
share amounting to $81 million.
The Droiect already has
been partly surveyed and
Belaunde hopes the Job can be
finished under the Alliance
tor Progress.
Peru. Belaunde says, has
only about one half acre of
arable land per person at
present.
He estimates mat every
mile of the new toid would
open up more than 3.000 acres
of land, doubling the amount
now available.
It would open up access to
the Amazon, Orinico and Rio
Del Plata, three of South
America's greatest rivers, thus
extending its benefits to Ar
gentina and Brazil as well.
And it would mane avail
able vast new resources of oil,
gasi manganese and jungle
products.
Along with his opponents
in last Sunday's general elec
tions, Belaunde considers
Peru's six million poverty-
stricken Indians as the na
tion's greatest problem. The
road, he believes, would go
far toward improving their lot
and bringing them into the
national economy.
For them he also would es
tablish 200 pools of farm
machinery and tools to help
modernize present primitive
farming methods.
The Popular Action Party
which Belaunde heads is con
sidered moderately left, be
tween the leftwing APRA
Party headed by Victor Raul
Haya de la Torre ano tne
rightwing Odria Union of
former President Manuel
Odria, the other two major
candidates whom Belaunde
defeated.
The winning party is na
tionalistic but, Belaunde ex
plained, nationalistic within a
framework of continental co
operation.
Belaunde specifically re
jected Communist support and
called for encouragement ot
private industry and invest
ment and for coordination of
Peruvian and United States
efforts.
Belaunde ran second to
Haya de la Torre in last year's
elections which an army take
over annulled on grounds of
,M In thi. -lection there I to take office even had he
remained doubt that the army won. The armed forces ap
would have permitted Haya I prove of Belaunde.
Strictly Personal
By Sydney J. Harris
(el flel4 Entarpriaea Inc.
PERSONAL PREJUDICES
Nobody is more exasperat
ing and frustrating to deal
with, over the long pull, than
the person with high intelli
gence and very little sense -especially
since the two so
often go together.
The human animal is so
peculiarly constituted that,
for example, a father
would willingly give up his
life to save his child from
burning building, but not
his afternoon of golf to vis
it the soo - yet it is the
small sacrifices, multiplied
many times, that give love
more meaning than the he
roic gesture in a crisis.
The miserable poor drink
to forget what they are not;
and the miserable rich drink
to forget what they are.
Pressing one's advantage
too strongly in a quarrel
when one is right, tends,
oddly enough, to make one
wrong - for the smugness
and self-satisfaction that
usually accompany light
ness are often worse sins
than the error of being
wrong.
The stale metaphor of the
"ladder" has always seemed
to me quite inappropriate for
describing the ascent to suc
cess - which is much more
like mountain climbing, and
consists of many lateral move
ments, some drop-backs, and
more falling boulders than
anyone is told of.
Why is it that the same
Matter of Fact
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
The news today?
There's quite a lot of it.
But let's skip the English
scandals and Monday's stock
market skid and the proposed
ban on A-bomb testing and
talk about chickens.
A Santa Rosa poultryman
has come up with an invention
that just might have REVO
LUTIONARY results.
Act oi Living
To the Editor: And you
Gals who didn't find friends
in Oregon.
I must whip up a quick
lunch for a group of my Ore
gon friends who phoned that
they are coming out to get
acquainted with this ol' gal.
They read Communications.
Don't let anybody con
vince you that Oreonians
are cold and unfriendly.
When I look In a mirror. I
wonder that any person could
choose me for a friend. I'm
not only plain now, I always
have been. But for my Irish
grin. I haven't one redeem
ing feature.
People do not like me tor
my money. I haven t much
But 1 like people, so they
can't find it in their hearts
to dislike me - and we just
sort of becomes buddies. It
isn't hard to like folk if you
look tor the good instead of
their faults. If you do .-ee
their faults, don't let 'em
know it. and tor goodness
sake, Girls, don't publish your
findings to the rest of the
world. By belittling the peo
ple you meet and the com
munity where you are living
you label yourself as a poor
spo-t.
What ever you get out of
Ecumenical Persuasion
To the Editor:
Vivid red, the tie that binds
together
The honest souls ot con
verts to the Christ,
Each thirsting, throbbing
note, seems to tether
And to Him tie. with cord
that He has spliced.
Deals no more with so cal
ed Churchly order
But with the single, open,
ardent heart.
Remnant standing now
upon the border
Shall go forwarding His
message, to impart.
Sealed are the honest with
the Seal of God.
Repenting of Laodicean
blindness,
Accepting God's counsel,
escape the rod.
Accepting His mercies and
His kindness.
Remember now, the true
Church is above
She is the Living Mother of
us all.
Zion. New Jerusalem, God's
own Love
Is waiting, waiting, wait
ing, for our call.
"Behold I stand at the door
and knock
It any man hear my voice
and open the door,
I will come In and sup with
him and he with me."
James Williams,
P. O. Box 441.
Jacksonville, Ore.
TJIS name is Schriner, and the
A other day he demonstrat
ed his startling new device at
a press conference at the St.
Francis hotel in San Fran
Cisco.
In its basic concept, it is
simple-consisting merely of
ROSE- COLORED contact
lenses. Chickens, he explained
to his audience, are pretty
much like people. With all the
stresses and strains of modern
life, they have emotional prob
lems.
They eat too much.- They
stop laying eggs. And often
they become so belligerent
that thev PECK EACH OTH
ER TO DEATH. But, he
claimed, his lenses, which his
new vision - control research
firm will soon put into mass
production, will end all that.
rPO DEMONSTRATE, he in-
troduced a pair of red
eyed gamecocks-both wearing
the lenses. They paid no at
tention to each other. In fact,
those present at the demon
stration agree, they were
downright friendly.
But
When he removed the con
tact lenses, the birds TORE
INTO EACH OTHER, and had
to be pulled apart to stop the
fight. He then got similar re
sults with other chickens,
proving that the original pair
weren't merely trained actors.
HE way it works, he said.
THE
is
make It hard for the chickens
to recognize blood, which ex
cites them. The lenses also dis
tort their vision so that they
can't recognize strangers.
1TMMMMMMMM.
AA Wouldn't it be wonder
ful if it worked the tame way
with PEOPLE?
It might be worth while to
shanghai Old Kroosh and Old
Mao and some ot the other
prime trouble-makers of this
planet and equip tbem witn
Mr. Schriner's lenses.
If it worked, it could revo
lutionize the world.
MEETS WITH JFK
Washington -Alt- President
Kennedy held a brief meeting
with Sen. Barry Goldwater,
(R-Ariz.) Wednesday to discuss
reappointment of Philip Ray
Rodgers to the National Labor
Relations Board.
woman who loved to walk
bare-headed in the rain with
us during the carefree court
ship days won't walk a half
block to the car in fair
weather after the marriage?
When reading obscene liter
ature is considered merely
weak, and not wicked, only
then will it lose its appeal;
for the psychological fact is
that obscenity is created for
the under-sexed, just as the
Peeping Tom is always a man
who cannot achieve gratifica
tion in a normal masculine
manner.
Everybody is part physi
cian, just as everybody is
part lawyer: health and jus
tice are two subjects thai
nobody ever thinks himself
disqualified to pontificate
about. (And perhaps part of
the high fees charged by
doctors and lawyers is un
consciously exacted as pun
ishment for this lay inso
lence.) The people, said James Har
rington, "are deceived by
names, but not by things";
and perhaps this is why Con
fucius declared that calling
things by their right names
was the first and fundamental
task for a well-ordered so
ciety. Bitterness shows in a
woman's eyes much mora
than a man's; he reveals his
discontents more by his ac
tions, she by her expression
at rest when she believes
no one is observing her.
By Joseph Alsop
(cl New York Herald Tribune Syndicate
jl j
THE NEW DIPLOMACY
Washington-The President's
major speech on Monday was
different things at once, all
of them ex
tremely inter
esting and im
p o r t a n t. It
was, first of
all, an an
noun cement
of two very
big decisions:
to renew nego
tiations about
AUnp a nuclear test
ban at a high level and in
Moscow; and to make no U.S.
nuclear tests in the atmos
phere pending the result of
these negotiations.
It is imaginable that the
high-level negotiator will be
someone like the President's
closest staff specialist on for
eign affairs, McGeorge Bun
dy, which will be a striking
new development. At any
rate, the American negotia
tor, as yec not finally selected,
will certainly be someone en
joying the President's inti
mate confidence. (A v e r e 1 1
Harriman was named negotia
tor after this column was
written. - Editor.) The Brit
ish negotiator, incidentally,
will be Lord Hailsham.
Secondly, the speech at
American University was also
kind of public Presidential
"hi, there" or "yoo-hoo" to
Nikita S. Khrushchev. And
third and finally, the speech
was a direct by-product of
the new, more intimate diplo
macy whose most significant
feature is a more or less con
tinuous, quite private Ken
nedy-Khrushchev dialogue by
mail and message.
'FAKING these three aspects
A in reverse order, it can be
stated on high authority thai
further personal exchanges
between the President and
Khrushchev were in the back
ground of the speech. Author
ity for the statement is hard
ly needed, however, since its
truth is almost self-evident,
After an earlier round of
personal exchanges, Khru
shchev made his famous "con
cession" of three annual in
spections per annum on So
viet territory. The Kremlin,
it is now known, thought that
this concession would pro
duce immediate agreement on
a nuclear test ban, rather
than resume negotiations on
the old lines.
When there was no Immedi
ate agreement on the basis of
the Khrushchev "concession,"
the Soviets gave many unmis
takable signs of genuine, rath
er self-righteous anger. They
apparently felt they had been
deceived; and they let every
one know that they were ex
ceedingly put out. For a
time, therefore, retaliatory
Soviet resumption of atmos
pheric nuclear tests were
generally expected.
AFTER a period of serious
embitterment, how ever,
the atmosphere cleared again.
Some kind of admission was
evidently obtained from Mos
cow that something might
perhaps be achieved by fur
ther discussion of the prob
lem. There must have been
such a Soviet admission, be
cause we would hardly have
resumed negotiations if the
Soviets were still talking in
their earlier take-it-or-leave-it
manner. So agreement was
reached to proceed.
As an influence on the in-
ternal politics of the Soviet
bloc, this agreement is an
event of great potential im-
portance. rnis is the Kennedv
speech's "hi, there" or "von.
hoo" aspect. The President
has made a peaceable gesture,
implying eagerness to coma
to terms on a major question.
at the very moment when
Khrushchev's argument with
the Chinese and their Russian
sympathizers is coming to an
other crisis. The gesture must
s t r e n g t h en Khrushchev's
hand.
Finally, the decision thus
taken is not so earthshaking
as some of the more excitable
Republicans are already try
ing to suggest. The President
has merely committed himself
to making no more nuclear
tests in the atmosphere while
the negotiations continue, if
the Soviets likewise refrain
from atmospheric testing.
Secretary of Defense Rob
ert McNamara and the Chair
man of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, Gen. Maxwell D. Tay
lor, gave their opinion that
they could easily "live with"
this kind of temporary and
c o n d i 1 1 onal suspension of
American atmospheric test
ing. Being temporary and
conditional, moreover, the
sacrifice made is as nothing
to the imaginable gain.
rpHE imaginable gain from
these renewed negotiations
is of course a nuclear test
ban reinforced by a modest
but adequate Inspection sys
tem. Those who want to con
tinue nuclear tests without
limit, and therefore dislike
the idea of a test ban, appear
to have forgotten altogether
where we now stand and .
what our real interests are.
An adequately policed ban
will leave the U.S. and Soviet
programs of nuclear weapons
development where they are
now. Neither side will gain
or lose, reia'ive to the other.
But both sides will gain enor
mously, as Should be obvious
even to the most simple-minded,
from any kind of ben
which will strongly tend to
prevent the proliferation of
nuclear weapons to other
powers.
The explosive Middle East
ern situation is one vivid
case in point, here. Another,
even more vital case is Com
munist China. The Chinese
are still working on nuclear
weapons. But a test ban, com
bined with worsening Sino
Soviet relations, will open all
sorts of possibilities of action
which do not now exist.
The real thing to grumble
about, in fact, is not this re
newed attempt to get a test
ban. The grumbling should
be directed it the odds
against the attempt's succeed
ing, which are still considerable.