i? i
i
4 A-
""itvarrona ta Souusani draioo
Haada Tha Mall Trlbuna
fiibUihtd BaUy axcapt Saturday by
MCDFORD PRINTING CO.
31 North rir St, Ph. 77a-ei41
"6BE dUBU Wltos
HEKB GRIY Aiv.rtl.ini Manaiat
GCRAUi T LATHAM. Bin Mir
MICW ALLZN JR. Mr,;, editor
- KARL H ACAM. City Miter
HARRY CWFMAN. Talai Mltor
RICHARD JEWETT. Sporli Ed tor
OLIVE 8TARCHER Worrnn'iMltoi
PALI IRICKSON. ClreuUUon MP
ArTindaiMndint Nawipapai
Cnttrtd aacond elaai mattaral
Madiord. Ortgen undtr Act of
March a, ' .
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Br MaU In Advanca
Dally end Sunday l raar tw.oo
gallr and Sunday J mot. 10.00
ally and Sunday a mop. 8.00
Sunday Only On yaar S5.00
Simla Copy (Mallad) , oo
try Camai-nd Motor Rout.
Dally and Sunday 1 yar $2 .00
rally and Sunday I mo. I.Jo
Sunday Only J mo. Mo
Carrier and Vandors Copy 100
67ftelat Papar of City of Mtdford
Official Papar of Jscjiaon County
United Preaa International
full Uaied Wire
V. P. i Telephoto Newipleturea
ATES Of'icea In New York. CM
caio. Detroit. San rranelieo, Loo
. Ancelea. Saattla. Portlaod
Denver.
AIIOCIATION
NATION A I IDITOtlAl
Memner California Newipapar
PubUahara AaaoelaUon
Flight o' Time
Madrons' and Jackson County
Hlitory from the file of The
Mall Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and 30 Vtr 0O.
10 YEARS AGO
July 14, I"3 (Tuaaday)
An Illinoli Valley grocer
fell to his death Sunday after
noon in an accident at Crater
Lake National park.
Chuck Mansfield, Oranti
Paw freewheeler, piloted his
racer to triumph in tht Soap
Box derby in Medford.
20 YEARS AGO
July 14, 143 (Tutidty)
Mail Tribune, in need of
carriers, calls on girls.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "No
statesman has yet come for
ward with s plan to centralize
the official muddling at Wash
tntton, B.C.. with an Ottlcs ot
Bum Guwlm." J -
30 YEAR! AOO
Jnlv 14. IMS iFrldav)
Surplus cherries of valley
crop told to CCC camps.
Phoenix and Laka Creek
Grangers plan picnic. ( .
40 YEARS AOO
July 14. 1133 (Saturday)
JN Curtis plans does going
business taking up citizens at
$3 a ride.
First loganberries sell at $1
per crate in Portland.
SO YEARS AGO
July 14. 1913 (Monday)
F. E. Jordan pays $12,000
for 120-acre ranch at Browns
boro, Five divorce cases coma be
fore circuit court at Jackson
ville. Whjl't Your I.Q.7
Nina ar ran eerreat Is svparlar;
seven at eight la assailant; live ar
sis M sea.
1. In golf. Is a birdie a
hols in one stroke less than
par or two less than par?
3. How many angles or
sides are in a heptogonT
3. Name the author of the
novel, "All Quiet On The
Western Front."
4. Is a curfew s bird, in'
sect, or mammal?
S. Complete the saying:
"Impaled on the horns of a
d "
6. What is a claw-hammer
coat?
7. An odometer Is an In
si rument which measures
odors, distances, or electrical
currents?
8. To be elected U. S. Pres
ident, a citizen must be at
least 23, 30, or 33 years o(
age?
8. A grandmother clock is
a miniature grandfather
clock; true or flaw?
10. "Golden Stale" Is the
nickname for which State?
Answers) 1. One less. 2.
Seven. 3. Erich Marie Re
marque. 4. Bird. S. " . . . dl
lemma." I. Dress (tall) coaf.
7. Measures distances. 3.
Thirty-five. 9. True. 10. Call
ferula.
f tmort Purchases lor
For Office Building
Harry Elmore, former own
r ot Elmora Trailer Villa,
has purchased property at
Crater Lake ave. and Stevem
St., formerly known as Kim'
may's Korner.
Elmore said he plans to
erect a one-story office and
store building for lease.
' Sale of the property and
leasing arrangements were
handled by Keith Bates, real.
tor, 133 North drape st.,
Meaiora.
j23? niwipami
SUNDAY. JULY 14, 1963
Morgan as Candidate
Howard Morgan, it has been aptly said, is
a tough guy in a Brooks Bros, suit.
You also will be hearing his name more,
rather than less. He's quite a guy.
He put himself through college by operating
heavy equipment on construction jobs in the
summer, for one thing. He was elected president
of the college student body, as another hint.
He has been a member of the legislature, state
Democratic central committee chairman, state
Public Utilities Commissioner, successful ranch
er, and member of the Federal Power Commis
sion. He will soon return to Oregon.
THE reason his name will be heard more is
because Howard Morgan is a fighter and a
politician. Both are so ingrained in his person
ality that it is odds-on that he won't be able to
stay out of the political arena. And he has ad
mitted he is mulling over
Governor in 196b.
If he does run, it won't all be a down-hill pull
Morgan has some things going for him. He
has a vivid personality. He is articulate. He has
guts. He has a unified
philosophy of government. He has stamina both
physical and psychic.
collar. . .
DUT there are also some adverse factors.
A nnrinrr Vila oavpov
toes. He (and former Mate sen. Monroe Sweet
land) Duut tne state
force in this state, after
can domination and control. In the course of do
ing bo, he bloodied the noses of a lot of the Old
Guard, many of whom are still around.
He has few friends in the Republican party,
for, as noted, he's a vigorous fighter.
He has even managed to alienate many of
the "modern" Democrats, supporters of President
Kennedy, by reason of the blistering letter he
wrote the President declaring he did not wish to
be reappointed to the Federal Power Commission.
SO IT MAY look, at this juncture, that there
fll'A llliar. inn mnnv thinrrs runninrr arraincf Mne.
gan for him to make a successful and state-wide
run for office.
But it would be a sad mistake for anyone to
count him out of this race, or out of politics.
And it is being predicted freely in the state's
press a prediction with
that 11 and when he does run for office in the
state, it will be a memorable campaign. Morgan
is probably without equal in Oregon, except only
for Sen. Wayne Morse, for punch and clarity
in speaking.
,rNE final item may
the fact that, due
training and experience,
of his campaign on opposition to the state's
utility companies principally the railroads and
power companies.
If we read the temper of the times correctly,
this is no longer the issue that it was a decade or
two ago. By and large the state's electrical utili
ties have won public approval and acceptance.
And the railroads, by eliminating passenger serv
ice, have removed themselves from the area of
majority public concern. What's done is done.
But if Morgan can either find an issue with
more punch, or can enliven this one into a matter
of public concern again, he will be a candidate
to be reckoned with. E.A.
Eclipse Coming
Prior to next Saturday, whpn thn Merlfnrrl
area will be favored with a partial eclipse of the
sun. our acnimintanop. with snoh a nlipnnmprmn
was limited to viewing a
ivza or wzv, and to reading Mark Twain s "Con
necticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."
rtni i ii i . ,a
inus. we iook iorwarn tn trip pvpnt
But there is a note nf
. . . . . 7..
sounded by those with a
people s eyes, it is extremely dangerous to view
an eclipse, and unless nroner- nrprnntinns mo
taken it can lead to blindness ranging from par-
uai ana temporary 10 complete and permanent.
e e
QNE professional group goes so far as to sug
v gest that people stay indoors during the
eclipse, and later view it m pictures.
Or, they say, if one must look at it, do so
ONLY through a double thickness of photo
graphic film which has been fully exposed and
developed to a maximum density.
Another safe way is to get two sheets of white
cardboard, punch a pin-hole in one, and let the
image of the eclipse shine through onto the other.
Size of the image can be varied by changing the
distance between the two pieces of cardboard.
CCLIPSES, once the source of mystery and awe
" and superstition, are
ter of celestial mechanics," as Royce Brier points
out in the San Francisco Chronicle. They have
been known and predictable for some thousands
of years in China.
Astronomers now can
when and where they will occur. Brier adds:
"If one ever arrives an hour late, we're In more
trouble than you ever imagined."
mi ,. .. . ,i . ,
i nis is true, lor ii wouki mean a major loui-un
in the clockwork of the solar system, and we'd
probably all be dead and gone long before.
Eclipses of the moon
place than eclipses of the sun. So it is natural
to want to observe a solar eclipse.
But remember: Be careful ! E.A.
K
the idea of running for
and well-thought-out
And he wears no man's
'
Vip's cfpnnnrl nn a lnf nf
Democratic party into a
many years of RepublL
which we fully concur
work against him. It is
to his background and
he is apt to base much
partial eclipse in about
pvtrpmp. mntinn hpinor
" . "w..e,
professional concern f or
nothing but a "mere mat
predict to the second
are much more common
Cold
I . . r .....v -..'. ;-'" -.iv-'r. .-
V- at..- : -,-.,. sacd
1 BR
I
Matter of Fact sy Joseph aijop
c) Nfw York Herald Tribune Syndicate
THE PRACTICAL "
POLICYMAKERS
Washington - A great deal
can be learned from the epi
sodes of Gov. Averell Harri-
man's send-off
on his poten
tially import
ant mission to
Moscow. The
main episodes
were the two
meet! n g s at
the White
House - the
first a formal
session of the
AJtnp
National Security Council on
Tuesday, and the second a
long talk with the President
alono on Wednesday, when
Governor Har'riman was given
his final instructions. On both
occasions, Harriman was told,
in the current jargon, "to play
it cool."
In itself, this is a " note
worthy fact, for the fairly ob
vious reason that the tempta
tion not to "play it cool" has
been very strong indeed. After
all, the President and those
around him have been waiting
and working for a hopeful
turning point in Soviet-West
ern relations ever since the
1960 elections. "
,
INSTEAD, the most notable
Soviet-Western' episode of
the Kennedy .administration
has been the Cuban crisis,
which ended well enough but
was not exactly good augury
lor tne luture. Bui now, in
contrast, it really does seem to
be possible (though far from
certain) that a 'real turning
point is at hand. "
Even II Harriman merely
brings home an agreement to
ban nuclear tests in the atmos
phere, in outer space, and
underwater, this will be a
major event. As previously
pointed out in this space, such
an agreement, if obtained,
will be the first Soviet-Western
accord since the Austrian
state treaty over eight years
ago.
Governments, like people,
tend to overexcltement when
they have been waiting for a
break for a long time, and
suddenly have reason to hope
that the long-awaited break is
coming. There have been some
signs of this kind of overex
cltement in Washington; and
this was why the Security
Council collectively, and the
President Individually, em
phasized the importance of
"playing it cool."
.
I'O EE more specific, some
policy-makers have want
ed to seize the opportunity to
open negotiations with the So
viets on all sorts of subjects,
even including the status of
West Berlin. A few others
have been eager that the Har
riman mission should lead on
to a summit meeting; and
there has been strong pro-sum
mit pressure from London,
where the British government
is feeling its usual pre-election
pangs of summit-itis.
Instead, Governor Harri
JS JvtS
i
EDITORIAL I ,y
Df-MRTMENT JT-.-l Jr-f
mm Jtow
ti
"Why can't wa rerun editorials in the summsr
lika TV programs' Paepla are too busy playing
lo think anywayl"
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON
Line
man was instructed at all cost
to avoid spoiling a good oppor
tunity to make a good begin
ning by trying to do too much
all at once. If the Soviets open
the topic of Berlin, or any
other comparable topic for
that matter, Harriman will of
course have to listen to what
they have to say. But he will
not Invite such an opening, for
if it occurs, he will simply
note what is said and report
it back to the other Western
allies.
By the same token, the Pres
ident indicated that he was
not particularly anxious for a
summit meeting at this time.
He is not opposed to such a
meeting either, provided that
every precaution Is taken to
avoid presenting ' it to the
world as a grandiose and de
cisive encounter capable of
solving every problem. But he
does not much want it; and it
will only take, place if it is
pressed for by Nikita S. Khru
shchev. In sum, the send-off of Gov
ernor Harriman was a good
demonstration of what may be
called practical policy-making
-that is, policy-making which
does not lose hope, but also
avoids everything that is doc
trinaire, or excitable, or self
deluding. IT MUST be added that the
mere existence of the op
portunity which- Governor
Harriman will try-to aetze in
Moscow is also a rather re
sponsible proof that the Ken
nedy team are practical policy-makers.
What is impressive
is the combination of tempting
mistakes that have been avoid
ed and judicious initiatives
taken at the right time.
The main mistake that has
been avoided-and its avoid
ance really . deserves high
pralse-is foolish official crow,
ihg about the Soviets' difficul
ties with the Chinese. For do
mestic political consumption,
this would have been a pleas
ant form of self-indulgence;
but it also could have been
fatal abroad.
Then, too, the lines to Mos
cow have been kept patiently
open. The decision to send
Governor Harriman to Mos
cow, which was taken at a
time when his mission looked
fairly hopeless, was an ex
tremely shrewd stroke. So was
the choice of Harriman as the
President's special emissary,
for he has a standing in Mos
cow unlike that of any other
Kennedy team-member.
As for the President's Amer
ican University speech, insist
ing on the need to look at and
talk with the Russians as hu
man beings, it was solely the
result of one of the Kennedy
hunches. But it led on quite
directly to Nikita S. Khru
shchev's speech in Berlin,
breaking, or seeming to break,
tie nuclear tcsl log-jam. Al
together, in this instance and
up to now, a good Job has been
done in the best way, quite
quietly but very efficiently.
ftKimrpi aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I , . . . .W J.
A LARGE BARGE
AND YOU, CLEO BABY
It is true that the hip bone
connects to the seat bone and
you won't forget it after sit
ting through more than four
hours of "Cleopatra".
Someone once said that
there has never been a statue
erected in the memory of a
critic. If this is true, then
here's where I shoot my
chances for a statue right
down the old tube.
Please understand that I'm
fond of Elizabeth, I like Rich
ard and I tolerate asps. How
ever, I think it's possible that
writer director Joe Mankie
wicz erred in adding anyone
to this talented boy-meets-girl-meets
- snake little theater
group. This you can best de
cide for yourself when you
see it at your favorite neigh
borhood theater or when you
view it in a few years on "Sat
urday, Sunday, Monday, Tues
day and Wednesday Nights
At The Movies" on TV. ;
I somehow had the feeling
that this whole thing was the
result of a high school prin
cipal calling in the drama
coach and saying,
"This year we're going to
have a little bigger budget
for the annual operetta. Let's
see what you can do with
$40,000,000."
Because there are so many
extras and so much action,
you're probably going to miss
something important if you
don't know what to look for.
With this in mind, I'd like to
alert you to a few things you
might otherwise miss.
In one of the opening
scenes, I felt a lump in my
throat (it later turned out to
be a piece 01' popcorn instead
of an emotion) as Cleopatra is
selling Girl Scout cookies to
help her go to camp with the
rest of the girls. The actual
camp scene was left on the
cutting room floor because it
didn't appear expensive
enough.
Early in the picture (about
60 squirms) someone presents
Julius Caesar with a big
cookie jar filled with nothing
but his brother-in-law's head.
Although this was a neat bit
of early day merchandising, it
has subsequently been proven
that there wasn't much future
in this type of packaging.
Nothing much happens for
another hour and a half until
Cleopatra makes her trium
phant entry Into Rome. If
you WBlch closely during this
great scene, you will hear one
of the slave bit players say to
another:
"George, I think I have a
scorpion in the toe of my left
sneaker."
It could very well be that
he did have, too, because we
watched for him in all of the
later mob scenes but never
saw him again.
Caesar makes a lot ot sena
tors sore at him and they de
cide that they can't wait for
the next primary election to
get rid of him. The next day,
the Ides of March, seems like
a pretty good time to Cassius
and Cicero to do Caesar in.
Sure enough, Caesar's day
get off to a bad start the next
morning when a bunch of
senators start stabbing him
like crazy. At this point, Bru
tus has the greatest line in
the whole picture.' As Caesar
stands there looking like a
Sensitive
By ERIC SEVAREID
London - Responsible En
glishmen, masters at criticiz
ing their own institutions -
i ana who
l Sr9V fiercely resent
criticism from
$ fore igners -
! are getti
j we a ry v,
1 p e c t s of
are getting
with
the
pects of 'the
sex - and se-
curity crisis.
Daily servings
savartio of sex stories
have the same effect as daily
servings of pink champagne -the
stomach rebels.
Security is what Interests
them now. What they really
want to find out is whether
the accepted tradition of mas
terful British supersleuthing,
fictionalized and enshrined in
a succession of folk heroes
from hawk eyed Sherlock
Holmes to steely-eyed James
Bond. 007, is itself a fiction.
Editors and politicians who
have been crying, "What's go
ing on in this country?" now
want to know if the supposed
geniuses of MIS know, them
selves, what's going on In
this country.
Reluctant admission by
Macmillan's government that
the man who tipped off the
escaped British diplomat-trai
tors, Burgrv, and Maclean,
was Indeed another British
diplomat. Harold Philby, al
though Macmillan himself
once denied it - this has been
the last straw. Whether it will
break the back of the Con
servative regime is uncertain.
pincushion, old Brutus says:
"Hey, Ceese, how are you
fixed for blades?"
At this point comes an hour
and thirty five minute inter
mission. This is apparently
how long it takes to sell the
last of the refreshments.
Part, two is concerned most
ly with Mark Antony and
some of his every day prob
lems. Cleopatra, reading the
evening papyrus, remarks to
Mark,
"Mark, I see your name has
been mentioned again as a
possible candidate for vice
president." Mark just shrugged his
toga is a sort of a I-want-to-see
- what-Barry-is-going - to-do-first
manner.
Near the end, everything
seems to fall apart. Mark
stabs himself through the
heart and gets a bad infection.
Cleo puts her hand in a fig
basket and is bitten by a fig
worm that turns out to be a
fig asp.
As everyone dies, I checked
my pulse and noted with some
glee that I was still alive. I
sat quietly in my seat and
watched several hundred pa
trons leave the theater, all
stooped at least half way
over. I was still wondering
why they weren't staying for
the second feature when an
usher shook me and told me
to wake up and go home.
3s
In the Day's News
y 'RANK JENKINS
Two big news possibilities
hung in the air last week:
1. That a nationwide rail
strike might be called.
2. That there might be an
open break between Chinese
communism and Russian
communism.
Neither has come to pass-
yet.
IN Washington, President
Kennerlv annminrort thai
there would be no immediate
rail strike. The nation's rail
roads and their - operating
unions, he said, had accepted
a Presidential proposal for. a
delay until July 29 in the na
tionwide rail strike that had
been threatened by the dis
pute over work rules.
The President, after meet
ing with both parties, said
they would accept the
good offices of a special
board made up of six mem
bers of his labor-management
advisory committee.
The board, he said, will make
a comprehensive review of
then' work rules change dis
pute and will send a report
to congress on July 22, along
with Presidential recommen
dations for any legislation
needed to resolve the four
yea r-od case.
TN the meantime, the rail-
roads will withhold ac
tion to put into effect the
new work rules and the
unions will call off the
strike which they had said
would follow the putting into
effect of the new rules.
The President said, in mak
ing his announcement, that
British Complicate Security
what is certain is an over
whelming demand for a renov
vation of the personalities,
procedures and - this seems
fundamental - the attitudes
and values prevailing in Brit
ish security services. Embat
tled authorities were pleased
to have the television testi
mony of Mr. Allen Dulles,
who said British security was
efficient, but this will satisfy
almost nobody here.
The purpose of counter-intelligence
is not Just to catch
spies, but to prevent their spy
ing. Macmillan claimed the
identification of Philby to be
a security success, not a fail
ure, to which the furious op
position retorts that the man,
like Burgess and Maclean, not
only got away with his spy
ing but got away himself.
if there is a gross slackness
in British security, that con
cerns every government allied
with Britain: what remedies
shall be applied, and how. con
cern Britain alone. Her po
litical procedures and tradi
tions are very different from
ours and what is appropriate
in the context ot Washington
may not be appropriate or
workable -in the context of
London.
Whatever Is done, we may
be quite sure that nothing re-
srmbling a "witch hunt"' is go-
ing to develop in Britain: guilt
by simple accusation, which is
essentially what happened to
many Americans in the Mo
Carthy period, is not likely
to get out of hand. Nor would
a British policeman, even one
GREAT IDEAS...
From
(cl 1963,
MERCY KILLING
Dear Dr. Adlar: Tha in
troduction of tha drug thali
domide brought to focus
many eases of mercy kill
ing, abortions, and infanti
cide. Author Glandvilla
Williams talis us, however,
that mercy killing and in
fanticide wera practiced by
tha ancient Greeks and Ro
mans as a matter of course
far population control.
What do the great authors
have ' to say about thasa
practices, specially mercy
killing?
Mrs. Frank A. Mabiui
1219 Washington ava.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Dear Mrs. Mabius: "I will
give no deadly medicine to
anyone if asked, nor suggest
any such counsel." This
pledge is part of the ancient
Oath of Hippocrates, which is
still taken by medical gradu
ates today. Clearly this for
bids so-called "mercy kill
ings" by a physician.
However, the medical pro
fession today faces the ques
tion of whether the prolonga
tion of life benefits a patient
suffering from an incurable,
malignant, and painful dis
ease. In the advanced stages
of cancer, for instance, mod
ern means of medication may
keep a patient alive for awhile
longer, through often in a
state where he lacks con
sciousness and will, and at
the cost of great mental and
financial strain on his family.
Would it be professionally,
ethically, and legally right for
a physician in such a case to
let nature take its course, and,
aside from easing pain, not to
interfere with what would
happen inevitably, anyway?
As far as the law is con
cerned, administering a dead
ly 'drug to an' incurably sick
patient is murder. However,
according to the "Encyclopae
dia Britannica," "a physician
may lawfully decide not to
prolong life where there is ex
treme suffering; and he may
administer drugs to relieve
pain, in the increasing doses
necessary to overcome habitu
ation, even though he knows
that this may shorten the pa
tient's life." . ,
As far as ethics is concern-
he would request NO FUR
THER truce.
WHAT of the communist
ruckus?
This statement in a Mos
cow dispatch Thursday morn
ing seems to offer a hint of
what may be in the air in the
big communist dispute:
"Knowledgeable communist
sources in Moscow said to
day it seemed that the two
sides realize the pointlessness
of the present negotiations
and are anxious to call them
off, but neither side wants
to take the blame for any
breakdown."
WHICH is to say:
Neither Peking nor
Moscow wants to give the ap
peacrance of having CHICK
ENED OUT.
What both sides need is
somebody who can provide
an out that will save the
faces of both sides.
as highly placed as the coun
terpart of Mr. J. Edgar
Hoover, be permitted to act
as his agency's press agent,
admitting never a failure, or
be permitted to indulge in
homilies and lectures on the
political philosophies of those
to the left of center.
All this, Britain will cer
tainly spare herself. But the
painful problem of reconciling
the interests of the state with
the rights of the individual
will not go away. Almost cer
tainly British authorities in
their security procedures are
going to have to move, how
ever cautiously, in the direc
tion of giving less benefit of
the doubt to the suspected in
dividual. It will be difficult,
almost as difficult as altering
the pattern of a physical re
flex; so homogeneous and
deeply patriotic a people have
a hard time crediting the
existence of such a thing as
treason: people so passionately
jealous of their own privacy
and personal dignity find it
excruciatingly painful to in
vade the privacy of any one
among them.
In the realm of security,
many Englishmen now con
cede they have been tolerant
to a fault. Item - when For-
eign Secretary Harold Mac-
millan, eight years ago, ac-
ccpted without question the ,
assurances that Philby was all
right, he said to the House of
! Commons: "We must take care
that in protecting our way of
; life w do not destroy it."
i Item - when Miss Mandy
Rice-Da vies, the second little
the Great Books
By Mortimer J. Adler
Publiahera Newapaper Syndicate
ed, there is a considerable dif
ference in the attitude toward
euthanasia between Christian
and non-Christian thinkers.
Ancient moral philosophers
such as Plato and Aristotle ap
proved of infanticide for
weak and sickly babies. Plato
railed at physicians who keep
an incurable patient alive.
The art of medicine, he said,
exists to make the sick well,
not to keep the incurable;
alive. And the Stoics coun
seled voluntary euthanasia as
"a good death" for thosa
whose life was too painful fop
them. -
Christian ethics, on the
other hand, extolled care toe
the incurably sicK and suffer
ing, and condemned euthana
sia as murder. One outsttmd
ing Christian thinker, Thorn-,
as More, it is true, pictured
euthanasia as a rational means
of putting incurably sick peo
ple out of their misery. Ha
did so, however, in a portrait
not of a Christian community,
but of an imaginary human
society, based on reason and
nature.
In our day, euthanasia as a
social measure is indelibly as
sociated with the inhuman
and irrational administration
of Nazi Germany. Hannah,
Arendt has reminded us in
her recent book on Eichmann
that the pattern for the ex
termination of the European
Jews was based on Hitler's
earlier program empowering
doctors "to grant a mercy
death to incurably sick per
sons." This euthanasia pro
gram, run by Hitler's personal
office and applied to persons
judged incurably insane, did
away with over 50,000 peopla
in gas chambers in a 20-montli
period early in World War II.
In the later years of the war,
the program became t he
model for the extermination,
of the Jews, of whom the old,
the sick, and those unable to
work were the first to ba
"granted a mercy death."
Hitler's program in all its
stark utilitarianism and in
credible horror makes us
pause. Whatever we may
think about the ethics of not
prolonging the life of an in
curably sick and suffering
person, most of us find it
morally repugnant to end the
life of a person .simply be
cause he is malformed or'
handicapped. We question
whether any human being has
the right to decide on wheth
er such a person may live.
We recall the case of Helen
Keller, blind and deaf fronx
infancy, who was able to
achieve a richly human Ufa
through the care and patienca
of Annie Sullivan. We recall
also the example of Frar.3
Rosenzweig, the great Ger
man Jewish religious thinker
who composed some of his
most brilliant essays when he
was completely paralyzed and
forced to signal the letters and
syllables by blinking his eye
lashes. And there is also tha
case of Sigmund Freud, who
in his later years suffered
from an exceedingly painful
and malignant disease, but
went on working to the end;
refusing to take anything;
stronger than aspirin, lest it
dull his mental functions. i
doxie in the Profumo affair, '
had testified, the first angry
questions in the House wera
demands to know by what
right the government had pre
vented her from leaving tha
country. Item - the private
incomes of traitors Burgess
and Maclean are still regu
larly forwarded to them from
Britain.
But the mora) and intel
lectual climate in which Brit
ish security people must work
is not exclusively composed ot
native and ancient traditions.
Two other latter-day influ
ences have played a part. Ona
was made in America - Mc
Carthyism - and the profound
revulsion it created in British
minds. The other has been tha
intensive, if not extensive, ef
fect of intellectual Marxism,
beginning in the universities
and extending into some areas
of the civil service. A bona
fide Communist would ba
hard to find today in the Brit
ish government. Others, from
the habitual fellow-traveler,
to a kind of person who
equates A m e r I can policies
with Russian policies, to tha
simple, "let's not be beastly
to the Russians" fellow, are
not jo rare. Nor are they rara
in some areas of press and
broadcasting. Whatever his
tory in the remote future may
! prove about their attitudes,
: present history merely proves
! that the Russians try to usa
j them and sometimes succeed
j (Distributed 1963, by Tht Hill
Syndicate. Inc.)
I (All Rights Raitrvtd)
A