THURSDAY,
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SSSTThi Mall Tribune
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ROBERT
RUHL. Editor
HERB GREY AdvrUtlni Minjija
GERALD T LATHAM, Bui. Mkr
ERIC ALLEN JB, Mnj Edifcr
EARL U ADAMS, City Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN. Telef Editor
RICHARD JEWETT, SporU Editor
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Flight o' Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mall Tribune 10, 20, 30, 40
and SO years ago.
' 10 YEARS AGO
Auguil IS, 1953 (Saturday)
Ashland family hit by fire,
theft and wreck, hope trou
ble has ended.
Eleven fires In Union Creek
district and three In Butte
Falls district set by lightning
last night reported by the
forest service.
20 YEARS AGO
Autmit IS, 1943 (Sunday)
l ib. rVrpk resident killed
when bicycle struck by bus.
' From Arthur Perry's "Ye
cm, Pni" pnlumn: "Sev
eral days the past week were
an hot their chairs got up
when the sitters did." -
SO YEARS AGO
August 13. 1933 (Tuesday)
Local orator sentenced to
life imprisonment; all defen
dants in ballot theft behind
prison bars, except one.
Temperature of 108 highest
here In seven years.
40 YEARS AGO
August IS, 1923 (Wednesday)
School opening delayed un
til Sept. 24 to allow students
to assist in harvest.
Carload of Chevrolet autos
overturns In local freight
yards.
SO YEARS AGO
August IS, 1913 (Friday)
Local couples return from
10-day, 1,000-mile auto trip,
without even a puncture.
Rogue Bartlett pears bring
$2 a box In New York, highest
ot season.
What'i Your I.Q.?
Nine ot ten correct It wneHetJ
even er eiiht Is excellent; fret
ii is e.od.
1. The square of the radius
of the base times the heigm
times 3.1414 divided by 3 Is
the formula for the volume of
What?
2. Does coral belong to the
animal or vegetable kingdom?
3. Four of the states of the
. Union have names which end
with "e"; name them.
4. In going around a left
hand curve docs an auto tend
to lean to the left or right?
5. In which western state is
the Sequoia National Park?
8. Name, the composer of
our national anthem,
7. Is a young hare known
as a cub, kit, leveret, or chick?
8. If afflicted with ergopho
bia, would you dread work,
self-praise or poison Ivy?
0. There are four standard
time zones in the continental
U.S. of which two are Eastern
and Pacific; name the other
two.
10. A part ot Pennsylvania
Is bounded by Lake Erie; true
or false?
Answers! 1. Cone. 2. Ani
mal. 3. Maine, Delaware, Naw
Hampshire, Tannest. 4.
Right. S. California. I. Fran,
els Scott Kay. 7. Leveret. 8,
Work. 8. Central and Moun
tain. 10. Tnsa. ,
4 A-
AUGUST IS. IMS
.Is the PTA
The Parent-Teacher
heon a fiYhire in most,
tion. Has it helped the
educators in doing a good jod: was tne ri a out
lived any usefulness it once had? Or is it still
a beneficial influence in education?
TVieao nnpsfinns are
a lively discussion these
tend to know tne answers to mem, dui mey are
a legitimate subject for debate.
A recent issue of the Seattle Argus carried
an article by Philip Bailey in which he calls for
the abolishment of the PTAs. Give both the teach
ers and the kids a break, he asks.
e e
BAILEY does not see the PTA as a threat to
the renublic. but savs "The main objections
to its continued existence
of time of both parents
further muddles an already coniused eaucauonai
effort." He adds:
"The teachers, of course, are forced to attend the
gatherings, and In most instances must spend consider
able time and effort in getting their rooms ready for
periodic inspections.' I have talked to many teachers
about the PTA, and have yet to find one who thinks the
schools would not be better off without it. in fact, the
main objection to the PTA is the strong and not so
subtle pressure exerted on the teaching staff. Woe to
the teacher who does not cooperate, and no unortho
doxy or hanky-panky will be tolerated. . . .
"We wonder if the cause of education would not
be better served if it were left In the hands of pro
fessional educators, and let parents confine their activi
ties to the necessary training in behavior, religion and
' morals . , ."
.
IN DISCUSSING this
our acquaintance, we
agreement not with the
were not. ren v nspTiii.
experience that they tended to be used as "rub
ber stamps" for decisions ot tne administration.
Our own experience with the PTA consisted
of taking out a 50 cent membership for each
of several years, under pressure from youngsters,
who in turn were under pressure to make the
room "100 per cent," thus entitling it to a prize
nr rppncrniMnn of some sort: and service on a
PTA safety committee for
succeed in having a traltic signal installed at a
school crossing.)
Wo reaenterl the nrpssuiPS involved, and usu
ally found the tea-and-cooky committee sessions
just as fruitless as the full
IT IS our conviction that parents sincerely inter
ested in the education of their children as
opposed to such things as room prizes, tea parties
and social chit-chat would do better by visiting
the classes their children attend, discussing prob
lems Dersonallv with teachers and administrators
involved, and in working
attetrmt to be helpful.
We do not deny we
l the PTAs have some
their credit.
But are the accomplishments worth the wheel-
spinning, the pressures on children and teachers
alike, the half-baked explanations of the "educa
tional programs," the endless committee meet
ings, which are involved;
We are inclined to doubt it.
e .
TEACHERS are gradually gaining status as a
profession. More and more they are well-edu
cated, intelligent, dedicated people, who are
trained to do a job, and in most cases do it well.
Would it. in Mr. Bailey's words, be better
to leave education "in the
educators, and to concentrate on other parental
duties and obligations?
Let each parent answer for himself and her
self. Let the teachers answer, too. For, ultimately,
we must decide if teachers are to teach, or if they
are to be subjected to pressures, subtle and not
so subtle, to conform and to present a bland and
pleasant "image" to parents in general. E.A.
On De-Twitching Vacations
"The dilemma of the American vacation . . .
is that what is good for the vacation business is
bad for the vacationer."
Resting in the quiet, ancient elegance of Dark
Harbor, Maine, Russell Baker of the New York
Times delivered himself of this thought recently.
What he means is that a man seeking the sur
cease of a vacation should
from twitching America who could find a place
to "stand under the stars and hear his nerves
sigh."
But, increasingly, vacation sites are paved
with asphalt, decorated with neon signs, and
catered to by a variety of hot dog stands, bars,
souvenir-gimrack shops, and motels with swim
ming pool and television.
O
F COURSE, there is
things. Baker observes:
"Today's tourist dollar comes from the man with
an outboard motor. He wants a motel with a healed
swimming pool and an air-conditioned saloon and some
place where he can walk around wearing diaphanous
shorts and sunglasses without feeling that somebody's
servants are smirking at him."
Still and all, one questions the real objectives
of such a vacation. Baker adds :
"Somewhere, this country should be able to pre
serve a few (places) where the Jangling American can
ponder the mysterious quiet that was part of his herit
age before twitching became the universal civic obliga
tion. "Bad for the vacation business? To be sure. But
the (proprietors) will always manage enough to retire
to Florida where they can learn to twitch in harmony
with the rest of th country."
As for us. give us tall timber, a lake, a stream,
or the unsullied oceaiL E.A.
Outmoded?
Association has lone
of the. schools of the na
schools? Has it hindered
almost alwavs good for
days. We do not pie-
are that it wastes a lot
and teachers, and only
article with a parent of
lound ner in partial dis
thesis that the PTAs
nur, necause it was ner
a short time. (We DID
chapter sessions.
with the children in an
cheerfully acknowledge
real accomplishments to
hands of professional
be able to be "a refugee
a
'demand1' for such
MEDFORD
"It Helps Pass the Time"
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name 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 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 t.K-e
paper, In fact the contrary is often the case.
Teen-agers
To the Editor: I fully ex
pected some response to my
letter of Aug. 5, but was real
ly surprised to hear from
someone such as Glyndon O.
Loomer, claiming indignation
and an upset stomach all in
one letter.
1 admit that I erred in
leaving the implication that
all city police are incompe
tent. There are a few that are
not, but very few, especially
in this area
There are also some very
decent, well behaved teen
agers, but they are becoming
scarcer all the time.
Loomer's statistics giving
the amount of officers as op
posed to the population and
area, are as ridiculous as his
desire to be sick.
There could be 500 city po
lice officers, and if the major
ity showed lack of responsi
bility and disinterest, then
that amount would still be in
adequate. Loomer offers to wager
that I've never taken any
steps toward correcting any
adverse situations. There
again he is shooting in the
dark. I did take such steps
once, but never again.
I pursued and stopped a 17-year-old
boy . and signed a
complaint against him, and
had him brought before a
judge. The charge was one of
speeding on a residential
street (55 m.p.h). I was ac
companied by a neighbor lady
who served as a witness. The
boy brought his father with
him.
The Judge stated in fact,
that this boy had been the
cause ol many complaints
over a period of time and af
ter a very light tongue lash
ing, he was released.
His father then jumped to
his feet, and threatened to
swear out a complaint against
me for speeding also. The
Judge Informed him that this
could not be done, (why? 1
don't know.)
For some time after this
Incident, this little smart
Block would drive by the
house where I and my family
lived, and make obscene ges
tures at me and the children.
Should I have yelled for the
police again? Not on your
life!
And you, Loonier, accuse
me of having an over-abundance
of gall.
Get in your car some night,
drive around, pick out a vio
lator of curfew. They are
thick as flics on honey. Swear
out a complaint, then listen
while Mama or Daddy tell
you lo mind your own busi
ness. Watch, while this same
Mama or Daddy whip out a
five or a ten-spot to pay jun
ior's fine, (if there is one) then
watch junior climb into his
$1,500 automobile and go rac
ing on his merry way, calling
you a square as he drives
away. Then you can go home
and really be sick.
G. L. Murray
P.O. Box 904
Central Point, Ore.
Picking Problems
To the Editor: Mrs. Hum
phrey wrote of the pear pick
ing situation in Sunday's pa
per. It seems (here are several
people in our valley who do
not know the labor problem
very well.
We do have a camp for mi
gratory workers with farm
paid transportation. It is not
completely free since they
must pay board and room the
same as the Mexicans.
Pear picking (as has been
said before) Is not a woman's
job. I've picked for years and
been told It was too heavy.
The ladders are no heavier
than the buckets of pears.
There is only about 1 in 30
women that have the stamina
to do this type of work. And
as to children in the orchards,
MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
the day is too long to sit under
a tree, lo say nothing of the
danger of trucks, tractors,
trailers and ladders of the
other pickers. It's a tempation
to pick up cull pears and put
them in mama's box. The wa
ter can make a delightful di
version too.
The number of Mexicans
picking fruit has nothing to
do with the number doing
stoop labor. They are all re
cruited by the government ac
cording to the need.
As to discrimination, we
hire the white pickers when
we use Mexicans. In the first
place it's the law, and any
way most of them only pick
long enough to get money to
go on to other places.
With six children, some of
whom must be school age, the
thing for Mrs. Humphrey to
do is when school is out in
the spring, head for the Wil
lamette valley with her brood.
They can all work all sum
mer, through strawberries,
cane berries and into beans,
which lasts till school starts in
the fall. Many places up there
furnish cabins for workers,
and that is definitely family
work. They don't use Mexi
cans there either.
Hope this sheds a little
light on the situation. By the
way, I've been crew boss
eight years now. That's what
a picker gets if he works too
long.
Velda Wilson
Route 4, Box 457-E
Medford
Club Thanks
To The Editor: The Crater
Cub Baseball Team, repre
senting Central Point and Dis
trict 6 wishes to take this op
portunity to thank all the
good people who were so
generous in helping our team
to go to the stale tournament
at Blue River; to all who
bought from us at our bever
age sale and to the following
for their donations: Gray's
Furniture, Tongan and Roger,
Victor Noel, Grange Co-Op,
Petrehn and Purdy, S&M
Auto Parts, Glenn Young,
George Tilley Masonry, Cra
ter Finance, Van Wey's Mar
ket, Paulson and Gates, Cen
tral Point Cleaners and M. C.
Linninger & Sons.
We also wish to thank the
following for their help in
getting our trophies: Anhorn
Faber Ins., The Center, Sax
bury's Clothing, Alexander
Hardware, Southern Oregon
Trophy Co.. Croskell's Hard
ware, Chets Flying A, and
Central Point Variety Store.
As you all know by now,
we did not let you down. We
won the Oregon State Cham
pionship. We hope you are
proud of us.
A. D. Van Horn, Coach,
Marvin Hayes, Director,
and Team Members,
, Central Point, Ore.
River Pilot
To the Editor: We attended
a recent meeting of
the R o x y Ann Gem and
Mineral club of Medford,
held at the Community club
on North Bartlett St., as a
visiting guest. An enthusias
tic group of rock collectors
and guests attended the busi
ness session and showing of
the Rogue river film, a "true
life adventure sound film" of
Glenn Woolridge, the Rogue
river pilot of a power-boat
riding the rapids of Hellsgate
goorge above Galice, Ore.
This writer knew Glenn as
a young adventurer, living in
the town of Rogue River, 40
years ago. We have met him
only once since, at Grants
Pass about 10 years ago. If
all goes well, we hope to
interview him again to get
material for a short story. It
was around the 1940 s when
Glenn was really "going
places and doing things" on
the treacherous Rogue river,
West Germany Influences All of Western
Europe; Is Key to Many Future Decisions
Br PHIL NEWSOM
UPI Foreign News Analyst
In a park - like setting in
Bonn stands a three-story resi
dence of clean, white lines
and quiet ele
g a n c e. It is
called the Pal
a is Schaum
b u r g. In its
with drawn
setting only
i-v I tne soiaiers oi
YJr I the West Ger
J man Republic
stanoing ai m
stand ing at
the gates give it the appear
ance of more than passing im
portance. But it is, in fact, the offi
cial residence of the West
German chancellor and from
it to a degree which would
have been deemed impossible
25 years ago radiates an in
fluence over the decisions of
every major western power.
It may be the force which
determines whether President
Charles De Gaulle of France
decides to seek a second term.
It, more than France, will
determine the future course
of the European Common
Market.
And in these days of cau
tious hope for a world more
at ease with itself, the United
Strictly Personal
By Sydney
(c) Field Enterprises. Ine.
PERSONAL PREJUDICES
One sure way to detect the
true expert in any pusuit is
by his unfailing courtesy and
consideration toward those
less skilled than he; it is only
the second-rater who is
brusque and contemptuous
toward the duffer, it is only
the person who is not sure
enough of his prowess to be
charitable and forbearing.
Children who are not
trained to do what is right
for its own sake (rather
than out of fear or promise
of reward or because "it's
the best policy"), will
sooner or later escape by
doing what is wrong for its
own sake and this is Ihe
meaning of so much "sense
less" delinquency by ado
lescents. Habitual critics of an estab
lished order are generally
the worst people to reform
that order, for, as Burke
pointed out long ago, "those
who are chronically em
ployed in finding and dis
playing faults are unquali
fied for the work of reforma
tion; because their minds are
not only unfurnished with
patterns of the fair and good,
but by habit they come to
take no delight in the con
templation of these things."
It is foolish lo say that
men and women should
marry for love; everyone
marries for love and if
what he loves most is
money or position or se
curity, then this is the love
thai the marriage is based
on.
The fastest way to break
up a "disarmament confer
ence" would be for one side
to accept the proposals of the
other this would create such
consternation that negotia
tions would have to be bro
ken off, for all such propos
als are based on the tacit
understanding that they will
not be acceptable.
A small town or a vil
lage is a unit, a city is not:
a city is really composed of
many smaller cities within
it, and ihe inhabitant can
freely choose which of
these smaller cities he will
move In; and it is this free
dom of choice thai, despite
its manifest disadvantages,
makes a big city so appeal
ing to so many people.
The best way to estimate
the nature of any group's
miseries is to study carefully
the nature of their pleasures:
what they are running to
ward tells us what they are
running from.
To communicate to oth
ers ihe knowledge that he
possesses is only part of the
task of a writer; Ihe more
important part is to com
municate to himself what
he does and does not know,
and in the very act of ex
pressing himself he works
t o w a rd clarity and co
hesiveness in his own
thoughts; writers who seek
only to persuade rarely de
velop their own minds,
"Women have two weapons
cosmetics and tears." Na
poleon once remarked; but
this formidable armory was
placed in a proper perspec
tive by Philip Preston, when
he added. "Lucky for men
that the two are scarcely to be
used with advantage at the
same time."
When a man tells me he
walked seven miles to
school as a boy. I can
understand why he learned
boat trips all the way from I
Grants Pass to Agness.
Bert Kissinger
322 South Riverside
Medford.
States will take careful sound'
ings of opinion-at the Palais
Schaumburg before proceed
ing further in any effort to
reach agreement with the So
viet Union beyond the present
partial nuclear test ban treaty,
For Germany is the prize
of Europe, and remains as it
has been through modern his
tory the key to European
stability.
For De Gaulle, who sealed
his Franco - German accord
with a kiss for Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer, the course
of events since last January
has been a disappointment
In the preamble to the ac
cord approved by the West
German Bundestag the Ger
mans made clear their con
tinued devotion to De Gaulle's
own grand designs for Eu
rope.
The German decision to be
come a signatory to the par
tial test ban agreement was
over De Gaulle's opposition
and led to laments in French
newspapers that France now
stands isolated.
In its agricultural policies
for the Common Market and
in its desire that Britain also
be brought into the European
community, West Germany
also stands in stubborn oppo
sition to De Gaulle.
And these are the condi-
i. Hairis
so little he was too fa
tigued upon reaching the
school house.
In the Day's News
By FRANK JENKINS
Defense Secretary McNam
ara, wno seems to have a
pretty good head on his shoul
ders, told the U.S. Senate that
the United States, with TENS
OF THOUSANDS of atomic
warheads, is MANIFESTLY
SUPERIOR to Russia in nu
clear power and would run
little risk in ratifying the test
ban treaty.
He added:
"The limited test ban would
SLOW Soviet nuclear prog
ress and PROLONG U. S. nu
clear superiority."
WHY?
It's a bit technical.
Bul here is the gist of his
argument:
PUSSIA'S lead in the MON-
S T E R S resulted from
America's CONSIDERED DE
CISION against concentrating
on such bombs. He said "hor
ror weapons" of the 100 meg
aton (100 million tons of TNT)
type, which Russia can devel
op, have doubtful military
utility compared to the small
er megaton weapons which
the U.S. can launch now with
precision and in vast numbers.
IIE PUT it this way:
We just don't think the
monsters are THE THING
They are too unwieldy, for
one thing. (If your enemy had
nothing but a cannon and you
had plenty of men with rifles,
his armament would be so un
wieldy that you could pick
him off and get rid of him
before he could get his huge
cannon into action.)
It was for that reason, he
said, that we turned down the
idea of monster bombs. We
think our immensely greater
number of smaller bombs are
more efficient.
The members of the Senate
are reported to have listened
with close attention to Sec
retary McNamara's testimony.
FROM armament, let's turn
to inflation.
Brazil has been having
plenty of inflation trouble.
Why?
Well, the Brazilian govern
ment spent TOO MUCH and
taxed TOO LITTLE. When a
government spends too much
and taxes too little, inflation
follows in the course of time.
IT GOT pretty bad in Brazil
It got so bad, in fact,
that the Brazilians had trou
ble finding places to carry
their paper money. At first,
the dispatches tell us, they
solved the problem by using
brief cases instead of wallets
That took care of the situation
for a while.
Bin, as more and more
money was printed by the
Brazilian government (in or
der to have something to pay
its bills with) even the brief
cases got too small. So the
people took to carrying their
money around in bundles
wrapped in newspapers.
THEN
1 Somebody up at the top
had a briliant idea.
Just print bills In BIGGER
DENOMINATIONS. That
doesn't take any more paper.
It doesn t take any more ink.
Just make the figures bigger.
Thus, instead of havine to
carry around sacks of little
bills the people will have only
one BIG bill to bother with.
Isn't government Juiance
J wonderful? w
tions which may convince De
Gaulle that he and he alone
can guide France through the
immediate years ahead.
In the years since the West
German Federal Republic
came into being in 1949, the
Matter oi Fact
(C New York Herald
(Joseph Alsop will be on
vacation this month and
gathering material both in
this country and abroad for
future columns. During his
absence, top members of the
staff of the New York Her
ald Tribune will substitute
for him.)
By MARGUERITE HIGGINS
MADAME. WOULD YOU
LIKE SOME POSTCARDS?
. Saigon The Xa Loi pagoda
rises sharply from the other
wise drab streets, its peaks
and inverted arches seeming
as exotic and mysterious as
the sound of gongs and chant
ing from the darkened inte
rior. The large front gate was
opened by brown-robed monks
looking gaunt, stooped, and
authentically ascetic. But once
inside, the exotic mood was
somewhat disrupted by the
qustion (in French): "Madame,
would you like some post
cards?" The questioner was a Bud
dhist layman running the pa
goda souvenir shop. He had a
special bargain that day
which was a series of seven
postcards showing the most
important steps of the self
immolation (the word "sui
cide" is taboo around pagodas)
by fire of the late Reverend
Thich Quang Due, all for 70
piastres (about a dollar).
There were more surprises
in store at the Xa Loi pagoda.
This now world-famous pa
goda is the command post
from which the Buddhist As
sociation, one of a number of
rival Buddhist groups, con
ducts its anti-government agi
tation. TN THE courtyard of the
pagoda nearly every monk
seemed deeply asborbed in a
mimeographed sheet that was
being handed out by an ap
prentice monk, a boy in his
early teens. A Vietnamese in
terpreter was instructed to
make polite inquiry of the
monk about what he was read
ing. It turned out that the monks
were reading their press
notices! The mimeograph
ed sheets contained summar
ies of stories appearing in
New York and Washington
concerning the anti - govern
ment demonstrations by these
Buddhists. The mimeograph
machines at the pagoda are
also busy preparing communi
ques for the foreign press.
The almost immediate appear
ance that first day inside the
pagoda of an English-speaking
press spokesman helped
complete the public relations
picture. And finally the im
pression that Madison Avenue
had crossed the Pacific to the
Xa Loi was reinforced by the
sight of a saffron-clad monk
clambering to the pagoda's
outer wall to harangue the
crowds through a loudspeak
er. THE well-advertised quarrel
between the Buddhist As
sociation (other groups have
kept aloof or disassociated
themselves) and the govern
ment began over the right to
fly Buddhist flags on holy
days and demands for great
er opportunity to acquire
property. Violence erupted be
fore President Diem officially
ceded on these and nearly
all other points raised. He
did so in a joint Diem-Buddhist
agreement signed June
16.
Then why the continuing
demonstrations in Saigon and
threats from the pagodas of
more suicides? "We do n o t
trust Diem's sincerity," said
Thich Huyen Quang, a Bud
dhist leader from the religious
center of Hue. But he was
"Throw-eway bottles . . . toft-top cans . . . 'pop-top'
cans ... no wunntr wt're all outta condition. You
make Hie too tasyl"
United States carefully has
nurtured West German public
opinion.
A neutralist, or pro - Com
munist Germany could de
termine the fate of the whole
of Europe.
By Joseph Alsop
Tribune Syndicate
unable to furnish concrete
examples of a governmental
breach of faith in its agree
ment. Only a few days ago,
the Buddhists again refused
Diem's offer to let them join
with the government in tha
presence of foreign corre
spondents and international
observers to investigate and
remedy any claimed griev
ances. This refusal, the re
gime claims, shows that the
Buddhists themselves feel that
their grievances are too in
substantial to stand the light
of inquiry.
In two days of talking with
monks at the Xa Loi and
Giac Minh pagodas, this cor
respondent was repeatedly
asked one question: "Will not
world opinion force Ambassa
dor Lodge to change his pol
icy toward Diem?"
AT THE same time tha
monks insisted that tha
"real place to see persecu
tion was in the countryside.
The senior monk at the Giaa
Minh pagoda said that tha
Catholics not only held all
the best jobs in the provinces,
but that in one particularly
bad area (Quang Ngai) Bud
dhists had been taken to jail
and burned alive because they
refused to let themselves be
converted to Catholicism.
Quang Ngai province is far
north of Saigon and distant
therefore from the . frenetiu
rumors which not infrequent
ly have taken in honorable
diplomats as well as honor
able Buddhists.
In any case, inquiries in
Quang Ngai about the "burn
ing of Buddhists" or arrests
of any kinds for religious
reasons brought astoni shed
denials. The queries were put
to the American sector ad
visor, the Buddhist sector
commander, Buddhist leaders
at the Quang Ngai pagoda,
the Catholic province chief,
and peasants in a half-dozen
villages. The Buddhist sector
commander - Col. Le Lan -was
of the view that Bud
dhists probably held a majori
ty of the posts in the province,
including those at the village
level.
A LL of which goes to show
that you cannot judge Viet
Nam by what "they say" in
Saigon. For nowhere in the
countryside, which is con
stantly being circled by Stale
Department reporters assign
ed to do only that, is there
religious persecution. As 10
Saigon, there is bitterness left
over from police brutality in
putting an end to recent
street demonstrations. But if
the Catholics were to lake to
the streets in illegal demon
strations defiant of the gov
ernment, they would risk the
same fate.
In Quang Ngai it was left
lo a Buddhist layman who
followed the Americans to a
hotel to come out with the
most candid version of what
the Buddhists are after in
this campaign of refusing to
let old grievances die. "I un
derstand from Saigon," said
the Buddhist conspiratorially,
"that Mr. Lodge is going to
get rid of Diem as soon as he
arrives. That is why they are
keeping trouble alive - so
that American opinion will
stay aroused. But in Quang
Ngai there is no religious
problem. Saigon wants us to
make a fuss. But what would
be the use? There are no re
porters here to tell the world
about it."
The Buddhist looked in
credulous when the Ameri
cans expressed doubt that Mr.
Lodge's mission would includa
the hiring and firing of Viet
namese government personnel.